Stray Chat
by Pozolegirl
Summary: Adrien wants to be friends with Marinette but...it's hard to be friends with Marinette Dupain-Cheng and not have both parties become a little tongue tied around each other. So Chat Noir attempts to make friends with Marinette with the aid of his mask instead. Following problems at home however, Chat Noir suddenly becomes Marinette's roommate! Now they're both keeping secrets...
1. Chapter 1

Adrien was done. He didn't want to do it anymore. He was legally free of his father, so why should he continue anyways?

"Dad, I don't WANT to model anymore- I want to go do things I've always wanted to do! I want to go into physics- it's not like I hate modeling for you- but you act like it's the only option I have open to me!" Adrien snapped in frustration, watching the cold eyes of his father narrow. "I've graduated. I want to start making choices for myself now."

There was a silence that followed until his father turned briskly on his heels, walking away and saying,

"I'll lighten your load of photo shoots, but you better show me how you're using your time before I let you go chasing some silly dream."

Adrien pursed his lips, wanting very badly to punch the wall as his fingers curled into a fist. He wanted to get out of this house. He wanted to leave.

But he had no idea what he'd do when he'd left.

Nino had left for an internship in Germany, and even though that wasn't far, it was enough distance that Adrien didn't know who to turn to anymore. Plagg would listen, but couldn't go out to the park with him to laugh and help him relax. He'd been desperate enough to ask Chloe on a date, just so he'd have a valid excuse to go do something.

He'd soon discovered that was a bad idea however, after she'd spent the whole dinner throwing herself at him with her batting eyelashes and twisted words of admiration.

The only time Adrien could breath was when he had an Akuma to fight with Ladybug, and that wasn't exactly a vacation from worry when you were trying to dodge weapons and dancing with death every day. Luckily, after all these years of fighting alongside her, they'd reached the point where they would meet up later after the battles, taking walks over rooftops just to talk about things,

He needed that badly. But it still wasn't enough.

He'd poured his heart out as much as he could to his Lady, who had only grown more breathtaking over the years. They'd both changed. But for him, she'd only become more important, his crush turning into an obsession that was over taking him to the point where he barely tried to get her attention anymore through flirting, because that strategy had never seemed to work. He only worshipped the time they spent together, that was all. He was drowning in his personal life and those moments were his breath of fresh air so he wouldn't be sucked underneath completely.

But he couldn't just meet up with Ladybug for lunch. He had to wait for some citizen to have a melt down so a monster would start causing havoc.

And besides, his heart was always sore after spending time with her. She still avoided his advances, even though he'd pulled back a lot. He supposed he should move on, but every time he saw her again his heart beat faster and he couldn't imagine him leaving his feelings behind. They'd both grown up. And she'd only become kinder, stronger, and even more beautiful.

So if he couldn't rely on Ladybug to be a friend for him whenever he needed one, he needed to find another.

"Plagg come on, I need to clear my head." Adrien said with a shaking voice as he closed his bedroom door behind him. No one was going to bug him for the rest of the night, and even if they did try to come into his room and he wasn't there, he didn't care at this point.

He just needed to get out.

Soon Chat Noir was slipping out of his window and running across rooftops.

He visited the park to see the fountains and watch the little birds beg for food, the bridges over the seine where he secretly glanced at the lovers kissing who seemed to have everything put together, Notre Dame where he studied the faces of gargoyles for the fiftieth time and imagined that he looked like one of them to the passerbys below him, and finally the Eiffel Tower where he laid on the iron bars and remembered the kiss on his cheek that Ladybug had given him there once.

He turned onto his stomach, smelling the old iron beneath his nose and giving a deep sigh. This would be better with her.

Adrien sat up and looked across Paris, wondering where he should explore next. Over the years he had grown accustomed to a special route, where the rooftops were fun to jump over, but now he wanted a new path to explore. His eyes locked onto an area he was not as common on his feet with and he soon found himself enjoying the thrill of misstepping and correcting himself over the new maze of buildings. He took a breather in front of the Dupain-Cheng bakery, looking up at the dark room that used to be Marinette's, feeling a little sad. He didn't know where Marinette had gone off to, but ever since they'd graduated he'd seen her less around town. She must have moved out…

Adrien pouted, pressing his face against his knees.

She'd become less nervous around him over the years, and he'd gone over to play video games with her a lot, but they'd never been very close. But he was so desperate for attention from a friend he was more than willing to find her at the moment. He finally stood up and jumped down to the street below, transforming as soon as he knew he was alone, and then walking right into the bakery.

"Hello… oh!" the Chinese woman said when she looked up and saw him. "Adrien! I haven't seen you in awhile!" He nodded with a smile. He was glad her mom remembered him, he liked their family a lot. They seemed to like him as well.

"Yeah! I uh…. I was wondering if Marinette was here or… where she is now… I'm trying to get in touch with my old friends." he said, realizing this was kind of a strange thing to ask. If she really had been his friend then he should have known where she'd disappeared to.

"Oh! Marinette moved out just a few months ago, but she comes over a lot. She's interning with your father's company I believe…" Marinette's mother said with a smile, and Adrien blushed, feeling a little embarrassed. He should have known stuff like that. That was important.

"Really?! That's amazing, I'm sure she's doing well. I only model for my dad, so I don't know much about what's going on with the company." he said with a shrug.

'You know, you should visit her, she doesn't live too far from here!" Mrs. Cheng said with a smile, moving behind the counter and filling a small bag with pastries. She handed it to him then, after scribbling an address down on a note.

"How about you go take these over to her for me. Her friend Alya's been traveling, so I'm sure she's a little lonely too." she said with a smile, handing him the bag.

 _That's right. Alya was going with Nino… dang it they're probably eloping or something cool like that while I get to deal with dad drama._

Adrien took the bag in his hands, looking down at the address with a smile.

"Okay, I'll go take them to her! Thanks Mrs. Cheng!"

"Thank you! You can eat some of those too by the way, just don't eat them all!" the woman laughed lightly, and Adrien grinned with a nod of his head.

 _Freaking finally….._

 _(#FeedAdrienAgreste2K16)_

After one last goodbye he left the bakery, mumbling Marinette's address to himself as he ate a few cookies and croissants. The sun was about to disappear now, painting everything in fiery warm colors as he walked down the streets, his feet finding their place on the uneven cobblestone of the road that looked golden in the light.

It was a few minutes of walking before he reached the apartment building, smiling at the fabrics shop before him. Marinette must live in the apartment above it.

There was a little balcony above the shop, and he could see window boxes full of bright flowers. How sweet.

Adrien walked inside the shop, holding the little bag of pastries, and saw a middle aged woman putting away bolts of shimmery fabrics. He cleared his throat and she turned, her eyes widening when she saw him.

"Why- Adrien Agreste! What brings you here?!" the woman said with wide eyes, and he was once again reminded that his face was plastered all around Paris, and on the magazines of the fabric shop surrounding him.

"I'm trying to find Marinette Dupain-Cheng… she's my friend." he said, showing that his intentions were strictly non business related.

"Oh… Well yes, she lives here. Go up the stairs through that door, I believe she is home right now." the woman nodded, pointing behind him. He thanked her and then went through the door, walking up the old stairs till he reached the landing with another small door, a little plaque with Marinette's name written on it, some sweet flower stickers added onto it for decoration. There was another door down the hallway, that had another plaque on it, and he knew it had to be the shop keeper's apartment.  
Adrien raised his fist, praying that the encounter would go smoothly and not as awkward as they usually did, and knocked on the door.

"Coming!" her voice rang inside the apartment and he heard socks on wood, running to open the door. He put on a smile and the door opened wide, revealing a messy haired Marinette, a pencil and sketchbook held to her chest. She nearly dropped them as her blue eyes widened at the sight of him and he quickly said brightly,

"Hey Marinette!"

"A- A- A-" she cleared her throat and then continued, "Adrien! Uh- I…"

"I came to see how you were doing… I heard you're working as an intern for my dad, that's so cool, congratulations!" Adrien explained, She gaped at him for a second, but then laughed in an almost panicked way and looked down at her toes with red cheeks.

"Th- Thanks Adrien, that means a lot! Would you… uh… like to come in- ah… oh my apartment is a mess…" she let him walk inside her small apartment, running to collect the fabric, scissors, pins and drawings lying scattered around as Adrien looked around her new home. It had brand new light pink polkadotted wallpaper, and that made him smile. It was so cute. Marinette was cute. Marinette was adorable.

He studied the layout from what he could see and decided it looked like a two person apartment, judging by all the doors.

"This is a cool apartment Marinette! You don't have a roommate?"

"N-No! It can fit two, there's an extra bedroom, but the shop owner downstairs said I should use it as a sewing room, which is what I'm doing!"

"That's smart, I bet you need lots of room." he said, watching her carry an armload of sewing things to her little table and set them on top. She laughed in a way that told him it was more than true, and she walked back over to him, smiling shyly.

"I brought you cookies from your mom by the way. She's the one that told me where you lived." he then said, pulling out the bag from behind her back and making her gasp a little.

"Thank you!" she cried, taking the bag and opening it to look inside. She grinned and took out two Macaroons, setting one in his palm. "It's weird not being around my parents all the time… It's kind of fun but… I miss them." Marinette said softly, her eyes thoughtful as she took a bite of her macaroon, and Adrien did as well.

"Yeah… that's great that you guys love each other so much…. also these are really good…" he nibbled the cookie, and she smiled at him while biting her lip, making a face that was so cute he wanted to just squish her cheeks- like- seriously- Marinette stop it- you're adorable.

"Well what are your plans for graduated life Adrien?' she asked, digging through the bag to look at the different kinds of cookies inside. He sighed, remembering the argument he'd had with his father not too long ago.

"I'm trying to figure stuff out right now… My dad wants me to keep modeling, but I've been looking into physics… I really like it. But yeah… it's kind of confusing." then he looked back up to see her blue eyes and he said with a smile,

"Nino left the country you know- I mean- of course you do, Alya went with him- but… yeah I miss him… So I decided I should stop being such a hermit and come see my other friend." She turned even redder and he smiled. "I guess I've just been kind of lonely lately." he said, with a shrug.

"Oh…" she said quietly, looking a little sad and thoughtful. "Oh- you mean- I'm your friend- and- i like- okay- frie- yeah." she then stuttered, looking back up at him in almost a panic. He smiled, uneasily. He was making her nervous. Great.

"Well… I won't bug you anymore…" he said kindly with a smile, backing away from the girl towards her door again.

"O-Okay! Thank you for coming! You can come visit any time you like!" she said, as least that's what he understood through all her stammering. Were they back to square one from when they'd first met? She'd started to actually talk to him during their last year of school….

Adrien swallowed, nodding with a smile as his heart sunk a little lower, grabbing the door behind him.

"Bye Marinette. I'm glad everything is going well for you." he said, and she murmured a thank you, blushing so much she could barely look at him.

Then he closed the door and sighed, leaning against it with folded arms. He wasn't going to give up on Marinette. If that meant coming to visit her more than he'd do it. Both of their best friends were gone after all, didn't that make each other their next best option? They used to hang out as a foursome all the time near the end of school….

He remembered another time when she hadn't been tongue tied around him. When he'd been Chat Noir. They'd met a few times over the years, and he'd watched her fangirl side disappear like it had never actually been there before, which to be honest disappointed him a little because it was kind of fun to have someone gush over him as Chat Noir….

But whenever he'd heard her talk about Chat it had always been with some kind of underlying admiration, complete trust, and pure appreciation. Ladybug was the one who usually got credit, which he didn't mind, but it felt nice to have someone support him as much as Marinette did.

Adrien smiled with determination as he started down her stairs, knowing exactly what he was going to do next. He was going to have an actual conversation with Marinette. One that wasn't filled with stammering, because for one reason or another she just couldn't handle being around Adrien.

He'd get some friend time one way or another.

—–

Adrien leapt over buildings, doing a quick run around before immediately going to visit Marinette, because he figured it may be a little suspicious for Chat Noir to show up immediately after Adrien did. It was dark now, and the stars were coming out, and Adrien breathed the night air in deep, enjoying himself. it was his favorite time to go out, because he really did feel like a cat then, running around without anyone seeing you in the dark…

When he reached her rooftop again he was going to hop down onto her balcony and make up a story on the spot, but he heard her talking before he did it.

"I ruined everything Alya! My hair was messy - my apartment was messy- I think I had dark circles under my eyes from staying up late last night, and I stammered like I used to all the time!"

"Marinette, if you mean what you look like now, don't worry, you look super cute, even with your messy hair. But the stammering? You've come so far Marinette, come on, I believe in you! And it probably wasn't as bad as you think it was." Alya's voice responded, probably through a skype call, and Marinette groaned,

"No, it really was."

Adrien, knowing she was talking about him visiting, nodded, agreeing with Marinette. Her stammering really had been noticeable. It was endearing and disheartening at the same time.

He probably shouldn't be listening to their conversation anyways…. He guiltily began to retreat when Marinette said something that made him almost fall off the roof.

"Dang it Alya, I almost told him I liked him when we graduated, do you remember how upset I was after the ceremony ended? I didn't think I'd ever get another chance to tell him…"

"Yeah… I remember."

"Well now he comes to my apartment, lonely and actually wants to talk to me, and all I can do is stutter. I feel awful."

Adrien laid back on the rooftop, his eyes wide as he looked up at the stars above him, his heart fluttering a little inside him.

 _Marinette liked him. Oh._

 _He was an idiot._

This whole time he thought he scared her or something like that. But of course it was a crush, or course it was…. He thought back to all their interactions through high school, wallowing in guilt. _Oh he really was an idiot._

"Well if he comes over again just breath okay? Do something fun with him. Do you remember when we played board games together and you were on his team and you were talking to him like you'd known him forever? You need to spend time doing that kind of stuff with him. If he's lonely and wants a friend I think he'd really appreciate it Marinette."

"Yeah… you're right, I'll have to do that. Thanks Alya."

"You're welcome. Hey! Guess where Nino and I visited today?"

"Does it matter? Did you pay more attention to the scenery or to each other?" Marinette laughed and Adrien dwelled on his thoughts for a few minutes, their conversation background noise now. He only listened with full attention again when he heard Nino's voice, and his heart ached, wishing he could be in there with Marinette, talking with all of them like the foursome they'd been in high school.

He hated being graduated.

He listened to his friends talk and laugh, not feeling too bad about eavesdropping because the conversation had turned to Nino and Alya's trip. It sounded like fun, and it also sounded as if his two friends had become incredibly close.

 _Maybe they are eloping._

Adrien rolled his eyes, smiling. No. Marinette would probably kill Alya for not inviting her to her wedding.

Adrien's heart jumped a little when he heard her saying goodbye and he realized that if he was still going to talk to her as Chat Noir he had to do it with the new found knowledge that she had a crush on him. He gulped, his face burning as he buried his face into his hands, moaning a little bit. He didn't know what to do. He'd always liked marinette. She was kind, intelligent, beautiful, and stood up for anyone who needed help. It had been so easy to flirt with her as Chat Noir, just because there was some part of him underneath his skin that admired her, made him want to be around her, made him want to talk to her…

But at the same time there was Ladybug. The person who gave him confidence in himself, someone he trusted without any doubts, the one who made him feel safe when his world as Adrien felt like it was crumbling down.

She'd always be there. And she'd always be his best friend. He couldn't get her out of his head, she meant far too much to him to do that.

And yet sweet Marinette had a crush on the part of himself that always felt like it had to be perfect. And he knew that she'd seen him when he hadn't been so perfect either. That made him feel a kind of burning warmth inside of his stomach, and he almost felt like giggling. What the heck was wrong with him…

Adrien waited for a few minutes after she had said goodbye, and swore he could hear her talking quietly to someone else, but it must have just been to herself. Then he stood up and hopped onto a nearby roof and then back to her own, reaaaally not wanting her to know he'd been listening to her conversation…

"What pretty flowers…" he said aloud, his own voice startling him in the open and quiet night, and he heard Marinette go silent inside. He hooked his feet onto the roof and let himself swing down so that he was right over her balcony, his nose almost touching the flowers as he inspected them in the light from her apartment.

"Chat Noir, what are you doing here?!" he heard her snap and he felt a smirk break across his face, feeling a thrill of excitement go through him to hear her voice. He looked upside down to Marinette, who was marching towards him and he cried,

"Oh!" Then he tipped himself onto her balcony, his feet landing on the ground, and he straightened himself out. He took her hand in his own and pressed his lips against it, hoping she didn't notice he was shaking a little and his face was turning red. Thank goodness he was wearing gloves so she couldn't feel how clammy his hands felt.

"Hello Princess, it's been a long time since I've seen you." he said as he let go of her hand, letting go of it and looking back up at her. Her cheeks were a little pink but she still remained sassy, folding her arms and saying with a smirk to match his own,

"It has been, hasn't it kitty? Or I forgot, you were my Knight weren't you?"

His stomach twisted, feeling himself beginning to lose his cool as he looked at her in all her true Marinette-ness and remembered AGAIN that she had a crush on him.

"O-Of course! I'm flattered you remember…"

"Why wouldn't I?" she laughed, smiling at him.

"Hmm…Well… sorry to drop by…I didn't know this was your apartment. I thought you lived at that nice bakery." he said, trying to sound innocent.

"I moved out. Graduated and stuff… you know."

"Oh… that's cool. I haven't moved out yet. But I want to…" he sighed, leaning against her balcony and folding his arms.

"Really? That doesn't sound good… Are you doing alright?" she asked him, putting a hand on his shoulder, and making him feel electricity zip through him. It was just like when Ladybug did it.

"…yeah. I'll be okay." he breathed, and she smiled a little.

"Do you… wanna come inside and hang out? I've got some cookies I probably won't finish on my own." she asked, motioning towards her glowing apartment. Adrien broke into a beaming smile.

"I would love to, you sure seem more friendly than usual Princess!" he teased, following her inside and avoiding a couch pillow thrown in his general direction.

"Oh be quiet… I'm just a little lonely is all. Do you like macaroons?"

"I love them!"

"Oh good!"

He sat down at the table with her, careful not to mess up any of her sewing supplies as he rested ontop of it. She fished out a few cookies from bag, picking out a couple green ones before smiling and handing them to him.

"Thanks." he took them, and bit into one with a smile. "Super good!" he added through the cookie, and she smiled back at him.

"So where is Ladybug, hmm?" she asked him as she started pulling at her pigtails that were falling out.

"Probably having a nice night, I don't know. I don't actually know who she is…. and I was just getting a breath of fresh air by the way. There's no monster on the loose or anything like that." he sighed, tapping his clawed fingers onto the table methodically. She nodded silently, tugging out her hair ties and running her fingers through her hair. He looked up at her from on the table, and smiled.

"Well your hair sure looks beautiful."

"Thanks Chat… It's actually really messy."

He shrugged and continued to watch her as he ate Macaroons, taking in this girl who liked him. She liked him. He couldn't get over it.

Marinette reached across the table to grab a stray comb and began brushing through her hair saying,

"My hair has been getting longer lately… I've been thinking of cutting it again."

"You and Ladybug… I don't want her to cut it. Every time I see it in the wind I want to bat at it." he laughed, and she rolled her eyes.

"You would, you cat. Maybe she should cut her hair then."

"No way! It's too pretty. I mean, if it's anything like your own… Which… it really is." Adrien noted aloud, and she coughed uncomfortably, turning red.

"You do look like her. I think. I don't know… It's too hard to tell with your hair down, you look like a different person almost." he sighed, looking away from the girl who was twisting her hair between her fingers without saying anything.

Marinette as Ladybug. He didn't see why not.

But then again, he was so obsessed with the superhero, he stared at every girl with black hair and blue eyes and tried to convince himself they looked like Ladybug. He'd done it so much he'd made himself realize he was forcing what he imagined onto their faces.

He didn't want to do it to her too. But she really did look like her…

Adrien told himself no and sat up, holding out his hand for the brush she had in hand.

"Can I brush your hair? I've never done that before…"

She looked confused for a second and then laughed saying,

"You've never brushed your hair before? It sure does look like that's the case!" He rolled his eyes and pushed his hand forward more saying,

"I mean I've never brushed someone else's hair. Especially a girl's with longer hair."

"Okay…" she said, smiling as she handed him the brush. She turned around in her chair and he ran her comb through, finding that there was something soothing about the motion even to him. Her hair was so silky the comb passed right through it. He scooted closer and got to work, running through every section evenly and smiling. Then he finished and asked,

"Am I supposed to stop now? If I finished brushing it all?" She didn't respond for a minute, and her shoulders relaxed, breathing calmly as she shook her head the smallest bit.

"No, it feels nice. You can stop when you want to."

He smiled.

"You might have just adopted a stray cat then."


	2. Chapter 2

(Chapter 2, featuring Adrinette and Adrien's denial of crushing hard...which turns into acceptance)

...

The ever determined Adrien knocked on Marinette's door, and was once again greeted by a panicked look. But this time he knew it wasn't because she was scared of him.

Marinette had a crush on him. And he was flattered.

Adrien didn't want to lead her on, but he did want one thing. For her to be his friend, more than they already were. After all, she'd been one of the first ones he'd ever had when he'd started school, and the feeling of having someone he could actually call that precious word meant _the world_ to him. _Friend_.  
Why weren't they closer?

All he wanted was to make that connection like they had the first time, the genuine laughter and the smiles as they'd shared their first friendly conversation. He wanted to feel that rush of understanding that she was someone who would be incredibly important to him, and he wanted her to feel that about him too. But then again, it was apparent she already thought that way.  
Adrien was also frightened by this though. What if this went down in flames and she was crushed that he didn't feel the same way she did? How could he explain that there was another girl, _his first friend_ , who'd taken his breath away the moment he'd met her, and who's beautiful smile repeated itself over and over in his mind.  
Something deep within his stomach twisted uncomfortably at this thought, and he did a mental double take as Marinette grinned at him awkwardly, practically sweating as she tried to spit out a full sentence. He loved Ladybug to the ends of the earth… but he still had this burning admiration for the stuttering girl before him. He couldn't figure out if it was that link of friendship or something deeper. The second option was starting to pry at his stubbornness a little more than it already had been. And it didn't help at all that she liked him. He made her tongue tied she liked him so much. That thought was playing over and over in his head like a broken record and making his heart pound so loud he could hear it in his ears.

"Marinette! Are you busy today? We need another model for my photoshoot!" He said brightly as soon as she'd paused her half formed sentences, and he watched as her eyes practically bugged out of her head.

"Wh- What I- But I-" she finally got through a chunk of stuttering before she restarted saying with more focused words, "F-first of all, I'm not a model- I'm a designer! And second, is that okay with your dad? I'm his intern and I don't know if-"

"Marinette, you'd make a wonderful model, and my dad wouldn't mind at all. He'd agree that you would be great for it. Now I kind of left my photographer out in the park… can you go or not?" he asked with a grin, offering his hand.

She gaped at him for a few seconds, but then squeaked,

"I'm not ready at all but-"

"Great! Don't worry, there's a makeup artist, hair dresser, and everything!" Adrien said with excitement, taking her hand and pulling her down the stairs.

He was determined to get her excited today. He was determined to act a little more like Chat, and try to get the other Marinette to come out, and he was determined most of all to keep her from stuttering.

It was going to be fun.

He looked back with a grin to see that her eyes were wide and her face was pale, and he felt a little bad for scaring her…. but not bad enough.

He helped her into the limo waiting outside, smiling widely as he climbed in after her and shut the door.

She still looked shell shocked and he pulled himself into a cross legged position beside her, smiling at her still. Yes. Chat Noir would definitely begin to come through now.

"How was the rest of your night yesterday?" he asked her as she looked like she was slowly coming to terms with the fact she was in his limo going to model in the park.

"Oh… It was nice. Um… I… uh… I guess Alya video called! She and Nino are doing well." Marinette said, shrugging.

"Oh good! That sounds like a fun idea, we should all do a big video call sometime!"

"Yeah! That would be fun!" she said, beginning to look a little more together than she had a minute ago. She cleared her throat and let out a deep breath, looking up to smile at him once more.

"Adrien, I think I'd like that a lot. I was going to call her tonight, are you busy?"

He grinned.

"I'm free all day, besides this photoshoot. Which by the way, will probably last a few hours, but I double checked with Natalie and she told me you were free today… You didn't have anything else planned did you?" he asked, a little nervous that he was invading her space too much. Her face lit up and she shook her head.

"N-No! Not at all! We… we can play video games again if you'd like. And eat dinner while we video call them or something." Marinette said, looking excited and Adrien's heart felt like it was going to burst.

"That sounds amazing! Definitely, let's do that!" Adrien said, and he grinned even wider, his cheeks feeling so warm he felt as though he'd start sweating.

She may have said she wasn't ready for the day, but she looked absolutely lovely. Her hair was pulled to the side in a messy bun, and she wore an oversized black sweater with little green….

He blinked.

Pawprints?

"Marinette…." he said in a teasing voice, nudging her in the shoulder and she jumped a little, looking at him with terror in her eyes. He smirked at her and said, poking one of the little pawprints on her shoulder,

"Are you a Chat Noir fan?"

She turned absolutely scarlet. Which honestly shocked him a little, because she seemed to have been so spunky with him the night before…

"It's a comfy shirt! I was making themed designs once and- I hadn't worn them in awhile and-" she trailed off, spluttering, and his cheeks betrayed his own flustered feeling. Thank goodness she wasn't looking at him.

She had seen him, Chat Noir, only the night before and it had inspired her to wear clothing with his logo on it? She really was a fangirl… She just didn't want to admit it!

Adrien curled his lips tightly, trying hard to not let out the most giddy smile he'd ever felt come on before and give away everything that was running through his mind. He couldn't help staring at her though as she turned her red face away from him. She was cute. And… and really pretty too. Marinette was pretty. His blush made him want to choke now, and his leg bounced distractedly after he noticed how it was brushing her own.

"You…You're a Ladybug fan aren't you?" she interrupted his thoughts and he felt like she'd dumped cold water on him.

 _Yeah. You're a Ladybug fan, Adrien. Did you forget?_

He scolded himself mentally, feeling almost sick to his stomach. Marinette was driving him crazy and he couldn't understand why.

"Uh… y-yeah I have one of those creepy fan crushes on her I guess…" he laughed sheepishly. No, it was much more than a crush. And he wasn't just a fan. They were best friends…

Adrien looked down at Marinette who looked redder than Nathanäel's hair, and felt a little guilty. She had a crush on him and he was in love with someone he couldn't seem to let go of. And yet he still had a crush on Marinette too.

Adrien wanted to slap himself for thinking that.

But it was burning inside him so badly he couldn't just drop it now.

He'd had a crush on her from the moment she'd looked his way and smiled at him. And that was the day they'd become friends, out on the school steps. He may have brushed it off as his elation of finally having a friend, shaking his head at Plagg's teasing about her, but now that suspicion of a stronger kind of fondness was undeniable. There was something more.

Even if it was _just_ a little…

Adrien blinked at Marinette, who was asking him if something was wrong, and looked incredibly nervous, even more so than usual.

"Wh-What was I saying?" he asked weakly, and she responded with,

"You're… a Ladybug fan." She looked much too flustered than she should have been.

"O-Oh! Right! Yeah- I am… Oh we're here…" he squeaked, looking out of the window as they pulled up to the park.

Adrien helped her out of the limo, taking her hand and instantly regretting it because of how clammy his hands were. Again.

His photographer looked mildly annoyed, but gave a reluctant smile when he saw Marinette.

"Oh fine- she would make a good model- you're right Adrien." he sighed, making Marinette turn pink and squeak a little, and Adrien tried not to snort. She didn't even know half of what he'd said to the photographer. He'd basically begged him to let her model, insisting that a couple photoshoot would save time and look nice. He'd had to go into lengthy detail about her, and how she already looked like a model, and he'd ended up turning bright red as someone made a comment on his 'infatuation.'  
"You need to go get ready though- go on!" the Photographer insisted. Adrien smiled and waved at Marinette who was already getting pulled away by the stylists, and she gave one of her fantastic awkward grins back at him, making him laugh out loud good naturedly. He went over to where his own stylists were and changed quickly into the vest he was modeling.

"I really like this one." he commented to himself, but if the stylists wanted to listen they were free to. He glanced over at himself in the mirror as someone brushed his face with powder, and he smiled at the green vest on top of the white dress shirt. He didn't think his eyes could glow that green without his mask on… and the vest had a different shape to it. It suited him somehow. He had to look away when the hair stylist took him by the wrist and pulled him into a chair, attacking him with a comb and making tittering noises.

It was taking longer than usual.

"Everything okay?" came Marinette's voice to the side, and Adrien looked out of the corner of his eye to see her. His heart jumped a little bit however, and he turned his head to look at her, causing a frustrated noise from his stylist.

"Adrien! I'm already having a hard enough time trying to do your hair, could you please hold still?!"

"S-Sorry!" he chirped, his cheeks red as he looked forward again, but his eyes continued to glance back towards Marinette.

She was wearing a white shift dress with a high neck, with green embroidery lacing around the top like a necklace. Her hair was pulled up into a bun and- oh gosh he had problems.

"Y-You look nice Marinette." he forced himself to hold back the river of compliments on his tongue, and she smiled while shrugging, her face turning red again. She didn't just look nice, but if he said anything else and moved his head, his stylist might have broken a comb over the top of his head in fury.

"Thanks- OH! You're wearing my vest!" her eyes had grown wide and she pointed to his outfit.

"You're vest?" Adrien said in surprise, glancing down at his vest for a split second before he looked up again so his stylist wouldn't murder him.

"W-Well… the vest I worked on with your father…" she laughed lightly, and he raised his eyebrows curiously.

"He looked at all the intern designs and he picked mine to develop. He only changed a few things, but I learned so much at the same time! He said it would look nice on you, which is funny because I did that on purpose." Marinette continued, and Adrien felt his neck grow a little hot as he bit his lip.

"I-I mean- I- well- I- I knew you were going to be the model- and- I wanted to work with green- and you're eyes- I mean- not like I-"

"You're Miss Dupain-Cheng?" one of the stylists asked, and her spluttering was cut off as she turned towards them.

"Yes…"

"Mr. Agreste mentioned you when we were scheduling the shoot, I'm glad you get to model in it. He said you were a promising intern." they said with a smile, and she smiled confidently back at them, looking excited.

"Really?! Wow…"

"UGH! Adrien- your hair refuses to look good with this outfit- I don't know what to do- I'm a professional and it's just ignoring me." the hairdresser cried, frustrated as she came around the side to look at his straight on instead of in the mirror.

Marinette came over as well, and Adrien tried not to stare at her. She was glowing with confidence after those compliments though, and her set proud smile radiated off of her and made her seem like a completely different person. The one that talked to Chat.

"I guess I'm just having a bad hair day." Adrien sighed with a shrug, and Marinette scoffed teasingly.

"Adrien Agreste, World Famous Model, and 'Bad Hair Day' do not go together." she said, rolling her eyes and he had to swallow the lump in his throat. "You just need some luck." she said with a smile, his eyes widened as she combed the front of his bangs with her own fingers, the hairspray making it stay put to where she'd set it. She did it twice, her nails brushing against his forehead which made him turn even pinker for some stupid reason.

He just stared at her the entire time.

This was so out of her character, yet he felt like he'd seen her act this way before.

She seemed to realize what she'd done and she pulled back her hand like he'd shocked her, stuttering an apology to the hairdresser for messing up his hair.

The stylist on the other hand, was overjoyed and declared his hair perfect. pulling him up out of the chair and shooing the two of them over to the photographer again, who looked relieved to finally see them.

Marinette was good at following instructions, and Adrien had to admit that he'd never had so much fun at a photoshoot before.

—

Marinette was so grateful when the photographer declared the photo shoot over, and Adrien pulled away from her cheek, having just given it a kiss.

It was nearly three, and while it had been incredibly fun, she also didn't think her heart could handle anymore close interaction with Adrien.

Oh right.

They were going to her apartment after this.

"Thank you for your hard work today Adrien, Marinette. I think we got some really good photos out of this shoot!" his photographer announced, clicking back through his camera.

"I can't wait to see them! Maybe I'll get a new phone background from them." Adrien laughed, as he pulled out his phone, thumbing over the numbers as he called one he apparently knew by heart. Marinette gave a little laugh, glancing down to see that his phone background was a blurry shot of Ladybug- _oh my gosh, I'm Ladybug, that's me_ \- standing on top of the building that she recognized as the one across from his house.

She smiled to herself secretly. She'd be happy with either of his phone backgrounds…

"Hey Natalie… yeah the photo shoot is done, but I'm going to spend the day at Marinette's house. We're going to call our friends…. Yes I won't stay late… Natalie I'm almost 20, late means 12 doesn't it?… ugh…."

Marinette turned a little red at the thought of Adrien staying that late. That would be… nearly 10 hours straight with him there. Her heart was already fluttering horribly from the last couple of 'kiss on the cheek' photos they'd done.

Marinette looked over at Adrien who was still giving details to Natalie, and she once again noticed… that he was blushing. He hadn't stopped blushing since she'd fixed his hair. Marinette had the sneaking suspicion that her sudden burst of Ladybug courage had flustered him a little bit- oh gosh- _she'd touched his hair!_ She was both outraged and proud of herself, and she knew she owed it all to the compliments she'd received, along with Adrien admitting he had a crush on Ladybug. Ladybug who was _her_.

Marinette felt like passing out, she was so happy.

"Well, as nice as we look in these outfits, we'd better change." Adrien laughed after he'd hung up, fingering the edge of his vest with a shrug.

"O-Okay!" she nodded with a smile, taking her last glimpse of him wearing the vest that she'd designed, proud of her work.

Soon she was back into her Chat Noir sweater and pearl pink jeans, but luckily the makeup and hairdo was hers to keep for the rest of the night. Adrien hooked arms with her and started pulling her away through the park saying brightly,

"Alright, what should we make for dinner? The store isn't far from here, I'd be happy to buy ingredients!"

"What?! N-No I'm sure I have… everything I… hmm…" Marinette trailed off, thinking about her shelves filled with bits leftovers her mother continued to bring over. "How do you feel about soup and salad?" She said after she relented and they started walking towards the market nearby.

"It sounds wonderful!" Adrien nodded. "I'm excited to actually make my food. I've never done that before. It sounds fun and also like something I won't be any good at." He laughed, and she scolded him, telling him that anyone could cook if they tried. And in any case, she'd be there to teach him how.

"We could also stop by my family's bakery after this to pick up something for dessert." Marinette added as they reached the stores, and Adrien nodded so eagerly she had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. He'd always been enthusiastic about their bakery and the many pastries inside, she was sure she'd have to bring home double the amount of treats she normally did.

Adrien followed Marinette around the store holding a bag as she picked out vegetables and meat, and he continued to console her worries that it would be too expensive.

"Hey, all of this is much cheaper than if I went out to where I usually eat if I'm away from home, so don't worry about it Marinette." He laughed as she almost didn't put one of the ingredients in the basket because she thought it was too pricy.

"Well way to rub it in my face that you're rich!" She said, rolling her eyes and he looked stunned for a second. She quickly consoled him by laughing and patting his shoulder,

"Adrien, Adrien I'm joking! You're fine!"

He looked so relieved it made her feel bad. He was absolutely the sweetest person she knew.

Soon the bag was almost full and Marinette tapped her chin, trying to think of anything else they might need. Then she pulled him over to the cheeses on display and said,

"Ah! A Cheese board, I can't forget that! Let's see…" She glanced over all of them, trying to calculate what would be the best to eat. "We should have some goat cheese… some Brei… What's your favorite, Adrien?"

"Uh… I don't really like ch- ah!" His hand pressed against his side for a second, like someone had pinched him, and then he cleared his throat and said quickly, "Actually- Camembert would be nice. That's… definitely one of my favorites…yep." She blinked at him and then smiled, nodding as she grabbed the white rinded cheese, and a few apples as well.

Marinette tried to ignore the looks people were giving them, the nudging of elbows and the cooing of old ladies, as Adrien helped her put the ingredients on the counter to buy them.

 _Oh they think we're a couple… this is like… what young married couples do- oh jeez- we need to get home ASAP. I mean- my apartment. We getting home implies- Oh- Oh no I'm doing it too._

At least if Adrien noticed anything he was kind enough not to point it out-

"Ha ha! Marinette, I think we've been pegged as a couple." He suddenly teased, gesturing towards a group of teenagers taking their photo and giggling. "Sorry if you end up in some celebrity gossip magazine." He added, as she slowly turned redder than the apples she had in her hand.

"It- It's fine! No one knows who I am anyways!" Her voice cracked, as she scooped the purchased ingredients into her bag and pulled him out of the market, walking as fast as she could as he laughed. Hopefully they'd get back to her apartment without any trouble.

That all depended on if her parents decided to embarrass her or not.

"Hello Mama!" Marinette cried happily as they entered the bakery a few minutes later, and she hugged her small mother who gave her a kiss, telling her she looked beautiful. Then she pulled away and saw Adrien, a grin spreading across her face.

"Oh Adrien! You found Marinette!" She said, pulling him into a hug too, and the tall blond had to stoop to hug her back, blushing. She gave him a kiss on the cheek, and then pulled away saying,

"What have you two been doing all day?" She asked, and Tom appeared from the behind the counter, wiping his flour covered hands onto his apron with a big smile.

"Ooh Mama, Adrien let me model with him in a photoshoot today, and he was wearing one of my designs, and- ah! It was so exciting to see my work in action- I can't describe it!" Marinette said enthusiastically, finally letting all of her bottled excitement show and she bounced on her heels.

"Really?! When can I see these photos? I want to hang them up!" Her mother said happily as Tom pulled Adrien into a hug, making him look like he was fifteen again compared to the massive father.

"As soon as the ads are done I'll send you some." Adrien said shyly, becoming a bit bashful in the midst of their happy family.

"Thank you Adrien! Would you two like to stay for dinner?" Sabine asked, looking at them both and Marinette blushed, holding up one of the bags of ingredients that she'd made Adrien let her carry.

"Thank you Mama, but we're going to make dinner at my apartment."

Her parent's eyes widened and they glanced at each other with a look that made Marinette blush even more. Oh no.

Luckily Adrien saved her by saying,

"We're going to video call Nino and Alya and talk to them tonight, I haven't gotten to see them since they left. I've only been texting Nino."

"Oh, well that sounds like fun. Did you come for some dessert?" Tom asked, glancing at Adrien who had started to stare at the piles of pastries on the counter and behind glass.

"Yes, we did." Marinette nodded, and Sabine laughed, moving to Adrien's side and asking him what kinds of pastries he wanted to try.

Soon they had a wide assortment and Adrien muttered to Marinette that he'd never forgive her if she told Natalie or his father what he was about to eat.

"Have fun!" Her parents called to them as they left with Adrien's arms full of boxes and the grocery bags.

"Thank you!" Marinette waved, glad that they hadn't completely embarassed her in front of Adrien. That was surprising… She'd half expected her mother to say she was going to use the photoshoot pictures as wedding announcements.

The weather was warm and the light noise of the streets was pleasant as they walked through Paris, Adrien being a very good sport about carrying all of the boxes.

"Sometimes I forget how beautiful this place is… And then the summer brings it back to my memory." Marinette mentioned as they passed a flower shop, the flowers blooming and filling the air with enough perfume to mask the slight scent of cigarette smoke that hung in the air.

"It makes you want to pull out a camera and pretend to be a photographer, huh?" Adrien added, and she nodded with a smile. Marinette picked up a bounce in her step, swinging the grocery bags around her as they neared her apartment. She felt pretty in that moment. She was dressed up, the weather was perfect, the smells of flowers and pastries filled the air around her and she was walking by Adrien's side. This had to be the most perfect day she'd had in a very long while.

Soon they reached the flower shop and Marinette said a kind hello to her Landlady who was cutting out a piece of cloth for a customer.

"Hello Marinette, Adrien." The woman said with a nod towards them, and the customer stared at the model that had just walked through the door. Adrien tried to look away, and followed Marinette up through the apartment door.

She stood against the door so he could come inside, and he hid his sigh of relief as he set down his bags full of groceries and gave his arms a rest.

"Alright, lets start on the soup and then we can let it cook while I slam you in video games." Marinette said with a cheeky grin and he made a face at her.

"I've beaten you _sometimes_." He said indignantly and she poked him in the nose saying,

"Yeah, when I let you." He tried to smile, but his face had just turned extremely red so he quickly made a scoffing sound and turned, taking the vegetables out of the grocery bags.

He must have been bringing Chat Noir out well, because the only person who ever poked him on the nose like that was Ladybug. Definitely not Marinette.

Looking over at her, he saw that she'd been surprised at herself too, and was staring very hard at the knife and cutting board she was taking out the drawer, refusing to look at him.

"Wash that first!" She said, keeping her eyes down as he tried to hand her some carrots.

"Oh…" he looked down at the vegetables. This really was a learning experience.

Adrien carefully washed everything and then tried his best to cut them how Marinette was, before scraping all the pieces into the pot of boiling broth.

"See, you can do this just fine!" Marinette said happily as she put in a few pinches of salt.

"Sure sure, now let's do something I'm _actually_ good at." He said, folding his arms.

"Fine, but I'm not letting you win this time." She sighed, putting the lid on the pot and then heading over to her t.v. set to plug in cords to her video game.

They were soon battling each other to the death, and it was usually (every time) to his own. Marinette was vicious. At least he had the satisfaction of being a challenge however, as their games dragged on and on until she somehow got the upper hand. He didn't care though. This was exactly what he'd wanted. All of the stress from the past month seemed to melt away with Marinette's triumphant cheering, and he was grinning with every defeated moan he made. They'd hung out a few times to play video games ever since the tournament in middle school, and he'd always been incredibly encouraged by Marinette's ease around him. She got so caught up into the game that he was no longer the frightening Adrien Agreste (Which he now understood as the _intimidating Adrien Agreste the crush_ ), but Adrien the friend. The friend who's butt she could kick while playing video games.

Adrien had the overwhelming feeling that he wanted to hug her.

"Okay, the soup should be done soon, let's play one more game as a team and then eat." Marinette said as she flopped down onto the pillows beside them, having just checked on the progress of dinner.

"Finally I'll get to WIN." Adrien laughed and she made a face at him.

The battle went quickly. They were both fantastic players, so even playing against the computer wasn't too hard of a challenge at all. Together they defeated the villain and cheered when they finished, and he turned to give her a fist bump. She was already waiting for him and they shouted as they brought their fists together,

 _"Bien Joué!"_

Marinette was laughing happily, and got up to check the soup, but Adrien stayed still, his fist falling just a little.

He looked over at Marinette who was excitedly telling him about the new game coming out that year, and how she was already saving up to buy it, and he just stared at her. Her smile, her confidence, her silky black hair, and the way her fist had felt against his…

Adrien felt like he'd been punched in the stomach and he quickly shook his head, getting up to join her in the kitchen. He needed to stop.

He was comparing her to Ladybug again. Looking for Ladybug. Trying to make Marinette someone she _might_ not be.

Adrien knew she might be Ladybug. In fact, part of him screamed that she was, but he needed to be sure. He couldn't just start falling in love with a girl because he thought she was the one he was already in love with. It wasn't fair to Marinette, who was important to him, who he never wanted to hurt. He was here to be her friend, not to romance her.

 _If he fell in love with Marinette it was going to be because she was Marinette not Ladybug._

Adrien strangled himself mentally for the embarrassing thoughts, and helped her set out dishes for them to use, hoping his ears weren't turning red, because that was sure what they felt like.

 _Yeah, but I'm not going to fall in love with Marinette…_

"Will you grab the salad on the table, Adrien?" She asked, him and he nodded, picking up the bowl and bringing it over as she followed with the pot of soup.

The rest of the meal went well, and he was happy to find that as long as he avoided certain questions, Marinette seemed to make conversation with him easily. He just smiled and watched as she got excited about fashion, and the things she was learning on her apprenticeship. When she prodded him about his own life he quickly tried to change the subject by answering vaguely and with as little disappointment as he could.

He wanted to go to a university and learn physics, but he had to figure out his modeling career first. He didn't mention the arguments that had become more and more frequent with he and his father either.

Knowing Marinette she'd either coo over him and ask him how he was feeling, or she'd get angry and promise she was going to talk to his father. Maybe she'd do both. That seemed even more like her. But Adrien refused to let her endanger herself, the internship was going so well for her, and he didn't want it to be ruined because of some tiff between he and his father.

When they finished up dinner and made jokes while they ate the fruit and cheese, Adrien had to hold Plagg back from grabbing the camembert himself after Adrien had become so distracted he'd completely forgotten about the hungry Kwami in his jacket. He'd had to wait till Marinette wasn't looking to grab the smelly stuff and hand it to the tiny black paws that were greedily expecting food. It wasn't till after a few minutes that Marinette commented on how 'he must really like that camembert…' when what used to be a good sized cheese wheel had more than a quarter missing. Adrien wanted to die. The last thing he needed was Marinette thinking he thrived on expensive cheese that smelled like old socks.

"I'll go grab my laptop, eat some sweets!" Marinette told him as they bussed their dishes to the sink and drank the last of their water.

Adrien nodded, watching her disappear into her bedroom, and Plagg hesitantly emerged from his jacket for the first time that day.

"Hmm, you once told me she wasn't your girlfriend, what a liar." He sighed, crossing his small arms and making Adrien roll his eyes at him.

"That hasn't changed Plagg. Going on one date doesn't mean your dating."

"Yeah but this isn't going to be the last date, is it?" His Kwami teased, and Adrien grabbed him before he ate more Camembert.

"W- Well… I don't know… I was hoping I could just… hang out with her more until we're just friends… boys and girls, we can be friends and not date you know." Adrien insisted, and Plagg only laughed.

"That's hard to do when both parties are interested, don't you think?"

"Quiet…" Adrien muttered, pushing the Kwami back into his shirt as Marinette's bedroom door opened again, and he hoped he didn't look too flustered.

"Are you ready to call Nino and Alya?" She asked, smiling brightly.

"Definitely!" He grinned, nodding. He was more excited then she could know. He'd been craving all this attention for weeks.

He grabbed the box of pastries that he hadn't opened yet, and sat next to her on the couch, pulling his legs up underneath himself as she balanced the laptop on her knees.

"I didn't tell them you were going to be here, so it'll be a surprise!" Marinette said as she logged onto her computer. She suddenly let out a yelp and shut her laptop quickly, her face red.

Adrien turned his head towards her, curious as to what was wrong.

"H..Hang on a second." She said weakly, picking up her laptop and shuffling away, carrying it over to the kitchen counter.

A few keyboard taps and clicks later and she came back over to him, as if nothing had happened at all. He looked curiously at her screen as she calmly opened up skype and he commented,

"That's an… interesting background." He said, seeing the very generic desktop background of the green rolling hills. He'd figured that Marinette would have some cutesy pink background with like… hamsters on it or something.

She laughed much too nervously and thanked him almost hysterically, only glancing at him for a second before entering her skype password.

Adrien turned his attention to the box of pastries in his lap and he lifted the lid curiously.

Then he closed it.

 _Ah jeez._

"Uh… maybe I should put these back over in the kitch-"

"No, wait, I want one-"

"Well what's your favorite kind I'll just hand it to y-"

"Adrien it's okay, I'd rather pick myself-"

"I really think that-" Adrien tried to hold it out of her reach but she grabbed it, opening the lid and looking inside the box.

She blinked. And then she groaned.

"I KNEW THEY'D DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS." she said dully, dragging her hands down her face in defeat.

Inside the box were all the pastries they'd asked for but in the middle was a big heart shaped one with pink frosting and little cut strawberries on top.

"I'm sorry. My parents…"

"It's okay, I'm flattered they like me so much." Adrien said, desperately trying to fix the

situation. Marinette sighed and returned to her skype, and he continued on saying,

"Really Marinette, they're so nice, every time I've come over I feel so welcome. They're so kind to me… all of you are. It makes me happy to see you guys hugging and stuff. I guess I- well- yeah. It's just nice." He finished and she gave him a thankful smile, still red in the face.

He handed her a pastry and she thanked him, waiting as Alya's number dialed.

"Hi Marinette!"

"Hi Alya! Hey Nino! I've got a surprise for you!"

"Really? And what would-"

Adrien leaned over, his grinning face filling the computer screen.

"ADRIEN!"


	3. Chapter 3

Nino looked down at Alya who was using his stomach as a pillow and was grinning like a maniac as she kept the laptop propped up against her legs.

"It's happening." She breathed to him triumphantly, and he smiled. Meanwhile back in Paris, shown through the computer screen, Marinette was bragging to them about how she'd completely destroyed Adrien in video games, and he was protesting that 'at least he'd made it hard!' The two were actually speaking like friends, they were sitting close on the couch sharing the screen, and both were handling it extremely well. It was a miracle.

"So what about you guys, when can I leave France to come to the wedding? Should I start practicing what German I know?" Adrien teased, and Alya stuck out her tongue, Nino rolling his eyes.

"Your one to talk Adrien, you two look perfectly cozy." Nino teased, narrowing his eyes at his friend who only laughed. Marinette quickly spluttered out excuses before Adrien took the laptop from her precarious hands and said,

"Actually, Marinette has been an absolute sweetheart to me all day, she's the only friend I've got left now that you two ditched me for Frankfurt."

"Dude, you should come visit! It's not that long of a train ride." Nino laughed, and Alya nodded, breaking from her staring contest with Marinette. They'd been using some kind of facial expression language that only girls would be able to understand.

"I'd love to, but I don't know if my dad would be okay with that." Adrien sighed and Alya cupped her hands around her mouth shouting,

"BOO! LA-AME!"

"Dude, are you seriously still taking crap from him? Weren't you going to talk to him about-" Nino was interrupted by Adrien changing the subject quickly saying,

"Yeah yeah, he hasn't changed it's fine- Hey did you guys know that Marinette is interning with him though?"

Nino frowned as Alya happily struck up a conversation with a blushing Marinette who was ecstatic to talk about all the modeling and first hand experience she'd been able to do that day. She'd been looking a little confused and worried for a moment though.

Adrien was smiling, but it was that stupid fake smile.

He probably hadn't told Marinette about the fights he'd been having with his dad. Nino couldn't blame him, she'd probably get worked up over it. But he had hoped Adrien would have found someone to talk to face to face about it, other than just sending frustrated texts to a friend in Germany. Nino had just been relieved at how happy Adrien looked to be with Marinette, and to actually see Adrien with his own eyes. He'd been expecting quite a different face after reading some of those texts.

"Marinette." Adrien interrupted the girl who was going on and on about how good the vest had ended up looking, and she turned her head to look at him.

He was just holding a pastry (he'd been eating them steadily from the box beside him) but this one was shaped like a heart, and it seemed to surprise Marinette for a second.

"Want to split it?" He asked her, and Marinette turned pink.

"O-Okay!"

Alya made a faint fangirly noise that only Nino could hear and began to hit him in the leg to try to get his attention, even though he was already looking.

"I know, Alya!" he muttered, watching Adrien break the pastry apart and getting sticky crumbs all over himself. The two were laughing quietly, and each took their own half and ate it happily, unaware of their friends who were trying to tone down their grins.

"Well it's getting late, we'll talk to you two later." Alya said with a wave to the surprised looking Marinette, who looked back at the screen with crumbs over her face and her blue eyes blinking.

"Late?! Nino wakes me up at nearly 3 in the morning to talk to me because you two are having sandwiches and he needs to know what type of bread he wants to use, I refuse to believe it's LATE for you!" Adrien argued, frowning at Alya who was grinning.

"Hey, I have no schedule." Nino said with a shrug, knowing perfectly well his bed time was a strict 2 oclock but 3 if necessary. What was he supposed to do when he was DJing those late night parties?

"Just don't be shy, you two should call us all the time!" Alya laughed, and Marinette waved goodbye with a smile, Adrien following her begrudgingly.

Nino winked at him right before Alya ended the call and the room went quiet again without their friends voices.

"You cut that call kind of short, I didn't know you wanted to spend time with me so bad." Nino sighed, and she snorted, knocking the hat off of his head.

"Don't flatter yourself, did you see those two? The last thing I want to do is take time away from their- " she struck a dramatic pose, "Budding Romance!"

Nino laughed and added,

"Yeah, you're right. I'm glad they're finally doing something about it, It's been nearly five years worth of blushing around each other."

"What?! You never told me _Adrien_ had a thing for Marinette!" Alya cried, sitting up and looking at him in the eyes.

"He never said he did… but I can tell." Nino said defensively and she sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Well for Marinette's sake, I hope you're right."

—-

"Nope, I'm done, I'm throwing you out of my house." Marinette said, pushing Adrien by the shoulders as he laughed,

"Hear _meowt_ Marinette, I'm _pawsitive_ Chat Noir would be _purrrfectly_ happy to know he has a fangirl."

"Nope, leave. You are literally just as bad as him. I cannot believe my ears."

"I'll have you know that I met Chat Noir once and he taught me all the puns I will ever need to use in life. We both appreciate the fine art of wordplay."

"And I'll have to kill him for that next time I see him." She answered, continuing to push him towards the hallway. He straightened up when he got to the door, zipping up his jacket and turning around to face her. She stopped, folded her arms and smiled at him mischievously, and it looked like she expected to hear another pun come out of him.

However he only sighed happily to himself, looking content as he stared her right in the eyes. Then he moved forward and caught her up into a hug, making her tense up, and he bent his head over her shoulder, holding her tighter.

"Thank you Marinette. You really cheered me up today. I'm so… I'm so glad you're here for me." He held on a second longer after she'd wrapped her arms around him too, giving him a gentle squeeze, and then he pulled away.

She was blushing, but it was a good blush. Adrien had accomplished his mission. They were good friends again.

His heart thumped as he waved goodbye, and he felt an incredible longing to just _stay_. But he couldn't do that. He'd officially stayed out much later than he'd said he would, which both thrilled him and made him a little worried as well, because he knew he'd get an earful when he got home, but he didn't care. This had been by far one of the best days he'd ever had, and nothing could ruin it.

"Bye Adrien. You… You can come over whenever you're lonely! We should play video games more." She said kindly and he nodded.

"Yeah, I'll come over and let you beat me to compensate for your short stature. I know that's why you get so into it." He shrugged and she made an offended laugh, hitting his shoulder lightly.

"I'll see you later Mari." he laughed back with one last wave and she closed the door after a small goodbye. He couldn't help himself. Adrien jumped.

" _Yes- yes- yes- yes- yes!_ " He said under his breath excitedly, taking the steps two at a time before he rounded the corner to see Marinette's landlady there.

She just smiled at him and he was grinning so much he just had to duck his head and nod, apologizing for almost running into her. She only smiled more.

Soon he was out into the street, and it was dark outside. There was a spring in his step like it was the middle of the day though, and he turned, walking backwards as he looked up at Marinette's balcony. He could see her dark outline inside the windowed doors, and he waved one last time. He saw one small movement of a hand and he grinned even more. Adrien turned on his heel, humming to himself and Plagg's small black head stuck out from his collar saying,

"You're a mess. A goofy pink faced mess."

"No I'm not." Adrien said, his voice light.

"Who's the one with night vision here? That's right, it's ME." Plagg responded, and Adrien could hear the eyeroll in his voice.

"Plagg, I didn't know how much I missed my friends… I feel like it's the first day of public school again!" Adrien said, his voice stubbornly sing songy, and Plagg made a disgusted noise.

Then after a few minutes of Adrien humming and the click of his shoes on the cobblestone, Plagg finally said,

"I'm happy for you Adrien." His small black head rubbed against Adrien's jaw for a moment and the blond smiled fondly, giving his Kwami a scratch behind the ears.

"Thanks Plagg."

The rest of the walk home was quiet and dark, but it buzzed with his energy, even as he opened the gates to the ominous courtyard of his home and walked across the yard, every step he took echoing with the thoughts of seeing Marinette again. Maybe tomorrow? Definitely tomorrow. He should buy groceries for her. Did she need milk? Adrien couldn't remember if she had had any in her fridge. What about eggs-

"Adrien." The cool voice stopped him in his tracks and he tentatively set his foot down on the smooth marble of the foyer.

Usually it was Natalie who scolded him when he got home too late.

He must have been…. _really_ too late.

Adrien turned around to see his father standing at the entrance to his study, a portfolio in his hands as he flipped through the papers calmly, only looking up at Adrien once his son had responded with a quiet,

"Yes?"

"You're… you're much later than you said you'd be. But I appreciate you coming home before midnight." Gabriel said cooly, and Adrien's shoulders relaxed a little bit. It seemed this would be one of their more merciful conversations.

"I was having fun, I forgot to check the time." Adrien answered. That was… mostly true. He _had_ forgotten to check the time, but he'd felt no rush when he saw he'd completely gone over the limit he'd been given.

"Hmm. You were with Ms. Dupain-Cheng correct? After you insisted she model with you in today's shoot?"

"She did a good job in the photos didn't she? She really appreciated seeing her work in action and I thought-"

"Yes, your judgement was good, she did very well. However I don't appreciate you making the calls and inviting friends to-"

"Father I was pretty positive you wouldn't mind because they bring civilians in all the time to make my photos look more natural, why does it matter that Marinette was the one to-"

"Don't interrupt me Adrien." His father said coldly and Adrien responded instantly with,

"Well don't interrupt _me_."

There was a silence and Adrien's heart pounded erratically in his chest, knowing this could either turn explosive or he may win some ground for himself. His father neared him, his face very calm but not at all friendly as he handed the portfolio over to Adrien for him to see.

Adrien broke eye contact to look down at the photos and he gulped a little as the corner of his mouth twitched, nearing a smile. They looked fantastic. Marinette was absolutely glowing.

And there he was holding her hand and smiling down at her as she laughed, looking at her like she was an angel. _Oh no._

"What did you do with Ms. Dupain-Cheng today, Adrien?" His father asked, and Adrien knew it wasn't an innocent question. But at least he hadn't yelled at him.

"We played our favorite video game together, we did that in highschool a lot. Then we had dinner and called our friend's in Germany. That was the main reason I was there, I haven't seen them in months. It was nice."

"That's the main reason?" His father looked completely unconvinced and Adrien frowned, knowing full well where this was going.

"Father, Marinette is one of my best friends. She has been since I started public school, and a very good one as well. Please don't misunderstand, she's _my friend_." Adrien said cooly, refusing to look his father in the face.

"Really?"

His father bent over the portfolio and tapped right above Adrien's captured expression, his soft eyes and his small smile.

Adrien turned red and said weakly, trying his best to pull out his smug smile,

"I'm a good model."

Gabriel's eyebrows raised and, to Adrien's absolute frustration and shock, the man actually smiled. It was small but it was completely genuine and he looked hopelessly at his son saying smoothly,

"Not _that_ good."

Adrien pursed his lips, and pulled away, his fist tight around the portfolio and his frustration mounting.

He was being childish, and he knew it. But that didn't stop him from frowning hard and turning from his father, walking away with the portfolio held close to his chest. He didn't want anyone to see these photos now.

"Adrien." His father said quietly, and out of sheer loyalty, Adrien turned himself to look at him. He wasn't smiling anymore, that odd moment had passed and it was now replaced with a solemn expression.

"Be careful who you become attached to."

Adrien's stomach clenched and his eyes immediately narrowed.

"My FRIEND, Marinette Dupain-Cheng is one of the best people I know, and if I DID happen to be interested in her, then you would count yourself lucky it was her!"

"Adrien, I'm not attacking her, I just don't want anyone to hurt you-"

"Don't say ONE THING against her! Don't you trust me to make good friends at all?!

Marinette cares about me- she cares about me like Mom did!" Adrien shouted, his voice failing only a little as he let out his frustration. There was no way he'd let anyone, especially his father, make even a suggestion that Marinette was bad news.

" _Adrien!_ " Gabriel's eyes were like ice now as he snapped out his name, as if Adrien had just sworn at him.

"Well she DOES! She knew I've been lonely, she tried so hard to make sure I had a nice time today, she's nervous around me and it's hard for to talk but she still tried so hard…" Adrien had to stop. He was too frustrated to keep going. It wouldn't get any better.

"Adrien please try to understand. I've had much more life experience than you, and I've gone through the fashion industry, it's not a nice place. She is my intern and as such she is in a position where-"

"YOU DON'T KNOW MARINETTE AT ALL!" Adrien interrupted him, refusing to let his father say the words that Marinette would even _think_ of using Adrien to further her career.

"Maybe you don't either, Adrien!"

It was obvious that they both knew what they were saying was too much, and too forceful, but the frustration on both sides was out of control now.

"You don't trust anyone do you?! Not anyone who works for you, not anyone you pretend to be friends with, not Gorilla, not Natalie, _not Marinette, AND NOT EVEN ME!_ Well with that kind of thinking I can't trust you either, _I'm sorry!_ " Adrien couldn't even bring himself to say goodnight as he stormed the rest of the way up the stairs and into his bedroom, shutting the door behind him and locking it.

It didn't matter that he'd locked it, they had the key, but he'd found that over the last couple of years they'd leave him alone for as long as his door was locked, unless he had an event or photoshoot to go to. It was some small bit of privacy he'd prized very much lately.

He groaned in frustration and let himself fall on his bed, still holding the portfolio to his chest. Plagg hesitantly crawled out of Adrien's jacket, curling up into a little ball beneath his chin, and Adrien reached up to touch the warm soft ball. Sometimes Plagg acted even more like a cat for him, especially when he was upset.

"I think your dad just really worries about you."

"I know. But I can't let him control every part about my life just because of that." Adrien replied. Then he sighed and lifted up the portfolio, looking through the pictures. He smiled. His day still wasn't ruined. He refused to let it be ruined.

"Plagg, I'm in love with Ladybug."

"I can't count the number of times I've heard that."

"Just hear me out again, please." Adrien said, rolling his eyes and Plagg gave a reluctant sigh. Adrien flipped through the pictures and continued saying,

"I'm in love with Ladybug and now I'm starting to like Marinette too. I don't know what to do, Plagg."

"Maybe they're the same person."

"Don't say that, I don't want that to be a factor."

Plagg made a small exasperated sound which Adrien chose to ignore, and he set down the photos next to him, reaching into his pocket to pull out his phone, looking at his texts and beginning to reply.

N: Heeeey! Adrien, how are you? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

A: Hey Nino.

N: ( ͡°( ͡° ͜ʖ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)ʖ ͡°) ͡°)

A: Nope, I've got absolutely nothing like that to tell you.

N: booooo

N: …

N: Are u okay?

A: :P

N: Did u fight again?

A: I guess

N: You didn't tell Marinette, did you?

A: No, she'd just get upset

N: :P I think you should tell her, she gives good advice

A: She's doing so well as his intern though, I don't want to screw it up for her.

N: I get that buuuuuut I still think u should tell her

Adrien frowned at the screen. He couldn't tell her. He knew she'd be willing to let him talk about it, but he wasn't selfish enough to hurt what was a pretty good work relationship she had with his father. He'd probably put a dent in it already with his fight. He continued to text Nino and change the topic, trying to get his mind off of the argument, even though it refused to leave his head. He was mumbling his thoughts out loud as he sent texts back and forth, and he suddenly remembered that Plagg was curled up under his chin when the Kwami offered,

"Maybe Chat could talk to her."

Adrien paused, his thumbs hovering over the keys as he thought about this.

Marinette knew _Chat_ was going through a hard time. Marinette had invited _Chat_ inside to talk, and she'd gladly listened to _Chat_ hint at his troubles.

Couldn't _Chat_ go to her for help?

A: Goodnight Nino, thanks for talking. :) I feel better.

N: Night- TALK TO MARINETTE also kiss her- Alya wanted me to tell u that

A: Oh my gosh, GOODNIGHT.

Adrien turned off his phone, still smiling and rolling his eyes, and he put it on the side table.

"You… you wouldn't mind transforming just for that, would you?"

"Nah. Maybe she'll let you take the rest of that Camembert for me." Plagg said, his voice lighter as he flew up above Adrien's face to look him in the eye.

Adrien grinned and sat up, his heart considerably lighter at the thought of going back to Marinette. She was going to tease him for being up late, and she would scold him for all the puns he had 'taught Adrien'. He couldn't wait.

—-

"Great is an understatement Tikki. Today was fantastic- incredible-"

"Wonderful- amazing- glorious- maybe even _Miraculous_?" Tikki finished Marinette's rambling, sitting in the pastry box with icing around her red mouth, munching happily on her treat. Marinette giggled, hugging herself as she repeated Tikki saying,

"Yes, even _Miraculous_!"

"I'm glad, you really seemed to cheer him up! I thought he looked kind of sad yesterday." Tikki pointed out, and Marinette nodded, smiling through her concerned expression.

"Yeah… Well he did say he was lonely…" She took a pillow from the couch into her arms and squeezed it, smiling into its plush fabric. "So he came to _me_ …" She gave a happy squeal again and covered her face with the pillow, laughing into it.

"I feel RIDICULOUS Tikki! Absolutely ridiculous! Like I'm fifteen…" She shuddered a little at the thought of what she'd once been, even if she hadn't been _that_ bad.

"And I wonder if-" Marinette was interrupted by Tikki who made a little gasp and, with the chunk of pastry she had left, zoomed to her favorite out of sight place. (up in the cupboard above the oven)

Marinette turned around to where Tikki had been looking, and saw Chat Noir jumping across rooftops and nearing her balcony, his green eyes flashing in the dark.

She reached up to pull out her pigtails, and then remembered her hair was in a bun. She'd decided that after yesterday, she wouldn't wear her hair in pigtails when she was around him. He'd seem to have a small moment of clarity, and she didn't want him to explore that anymore.

It made her feel bad. They'd been a team for so long… best friends for years.

But the thought of him knowing terrified her. It filled her with so much anxiety that it made her sick, _and she didn't understand why_.

"What in the world are you doing here?" She laughed as she ran out to her balcony, watching him grin as he took one last leap down to stand before her.

"Just out and about and decided to come see my Princess." He said after he swooped into a bow and gave her hand a kiss. He held on for just a second, and she swallowed the lump in her throat that had formed when she saw the expression of admiration in his eyes when he looked up at her again.

"Really kitty? You wanted to visit me?" She asked, raising her eyebrows. Then she remembered her last conversation about him and frowned saying,

"Well you shouldn't have come, I have a bone to pick with you."

His eyes sparked and he smirked wickedly, as if he already knew what she was accusing him of.

"Whatever could that be?"

"Your awful awful puns, that's what. I can't believe you spread your disease to Adrien Agreste, his humor has been tainted forever now." Marinette said, shaking her head and he only grinned wider.

"Hmm… Adrien Agreste? I think you've got it all wrong Princess, we only swapped some puns, we're both very dedicated to our humor. He may know even more than I do!" He sighed, shrugging his shoulders helplessly.

"Oooh PLEASE don't say that!" Marinette groaned, covering her face with her hands and making him laugh more. She began to turn towards her living room but he caught her hand and pulled it to him gently saying,

"Marinette?"

She looked back at him to see that his expression had grown a little more serious then and she frowned a little.

"What? Is something wrong, Kitty?"

He gulped and she watched his eyebrows tense together more before he gave a deep sigh and said weakly,

"Could I talk to you? About things? Not very… happy things?"

She felt her heart ache for her partner and instantly pulled him by the hand inside, shutting the balcony door behind her afterwards and saying,

"Of course you can, you can always talk to me! Did you have a bad day?"

He stood there awkwardly, chewing on his lip until a smile spread across his face.

"No… actually I had an incredible day. One of the best I've had in a long time. But… I did just have a fight with my dad… I didn't want it to ruin my day so I came to talk to you… to cheer me up… I'm sorry."

Marinette smiled a little and then circled her arms around him, bringing him closer to a hug, and she could feel how his tense shoulders relaxed before he hugged her back.

"Don't feel sorry about it, I'm your friend! After all the times you dropped by my balcony in highschool when I was studying, just to tell me a stupid pun you'd just thought of? I think it's perfectly appropriate to tell me these kind of things now."

She drew back from him and tugged him over to the pile of pillows strewn across the floor that she and Adrien had been playing video games on, pulling him down to sit across from her.

"Thank you Marinette. I would have bugged someone else about it but I've already texted my friends far away so many times, and I don't want anyone I know locally to hear about it because I don't want to make drama… But you are my friend! I've always felt like I could trust you."

Marinette smiled but inside, her heart skipped a few beats. She wondered if part of that trust came from her being Ladybug, and in that case she felt like he shouldn't trust her at all. She was lying to him this very second.

He crossed his legs, grabbing a pillow and holding it to him as he let out a sigh, and she leaned in to listen.

"So… my dad… he loves me a lot. I know he does. But I don't think he can take care of me very well… or I guess, he takes care of me too much." Chat began, and Marinette smiled a little and offered,

"Helicopter parent?"

"Very much so. He's trying to take care of me without my mom around and all he's doing is driving me crazy. He doesn't trust anyone I become friends with, he's always suspicious that they're a bad influence, when really they're the best things that could have happened to me in my life…" His sentence faded off as he stared back at her intently, and Marinette was flattered by the sudden realization that she was included in that. Not just Ladybug, but Marinette as well.

"I don't know what to do. We fought tonight because I was sick of him judging one of my friends when they're one of th-the best people that I know- and I understand where he's coming from but it doesn't make it okay and- ugh. I'm not very good at venting." He sighed, pulling up his knees to his chin and burying his head in it so all that she could see was his golden head with those black cat ears sitting on top.

She couldn't help it, she reached over and rubbed the top of his head. He didn't look up, he just held still and she ran her fingers through the top of his hair saying softly,

"I think it's good that you know he loves you. It sounds like he really does care. But you're right, you are an adult now, and he needs to back off."

She considered pulling her hand away but now that she'd started, she couldn't stop, so she only ruffled his hair more as he sighed hopelessly.

"Yeah, so what should I do?"

"I think you should move out." Marinette said plainly, and he made a small noise of discomfort.

"I'm serious, you can still see him enough to let him know that you don't hate him, but you'd be gone and on your own to show him that you'll be just fine."

"Okay, but I have no idea where to go." Chat said, the words sounding bitter. "I have a job, but it's working for his company, it's all I've ever done since I was little. I was raised for it and… I don't know if I can do anything else."

"Do you want to do something else?"

"Yeah… Maybe something with science. I need to go to a university or something."

"And your father thinks going to a university is a bad idea?"

"No, he just thinks I'm chasing after a dream that won't happen. I think he just wants me to keep mo- uh- working for him. From the outside it does seem like the smart thing to do, I'm not exactly poor right now, and I'd be set for life if I kept working for him."

"Hmm." Marinette nodded. After the few more personal conversations she'd had with Chat, she'd been able to pick up on the fact that Chat's family had to be a part of the upper class Parisians. She was just glad he had a golden heart, and didn't act like Chloe all the time.

"And there is almost no chance he'd let me work for him if I left home and started looking into other things. He might need me, but his temper is strong enough he'll refuse to let me come back."

Chat repositioned himself so he was flat on his stomach, chin on his folded arms, and Marinette continued to pet the top of his head while she thought.

"Well it sounds like this is something that needs to change over talking. If he refuses to let it end peacefully that way then you just need to leave. Let him cool off before you approach him again, but definitely just leave. It's not worth it, Chat. And I'm sure you could find some kind of job to help you keep living, I mean, look at me! If I can do it, so can you!" She laughed, waving her hand around the apartment.

He made a noise of agreement and kept his eyes closed, his faux-but still magic-tail beginning to swish back and forth lazily as she continued to scratch his head.

"Thank you Marinette." He mumbled and she smiled, brushing away his bangs so she could see his eyes open up to look at her, her hand still atop his head. Then a smirk spread across his face and he said slyly,

"Do you usually spend your afternoons pampering stray cats?"

She smacked him lightly on top of his head and he laughed into the pillow she'd just pushed his nose into.

"Well you brushed my hair last time, I had to return the favor. It feels nice, doesn't it?"

"Very nice…" He said quietly, closing his eyes again and practically purring, making her roll her eyes and ruffle his hair until it stood on end.

She then stood up and brought over the box of pastries Tikki had been eating earlier out of earlier, and she held out the box for him.

"Would you like something before you go?"

His eyebrows knitted together and he asked sadly,

"I have to leave?"

"Well you can't stay here all night!" Marinette laughed, rolling her eyes, and she handed him the last croissant from the box which he eyed sadly.

He looked back up at her after a moment and her heart shuddered a little bit.

"D-Don't look at me like that- kitten eyes are strictly forbidden here…" She stuttered, sitting down beside him once again and covering his eyes from her view. He pouted beneath her fingers and she grinned as she slowly pulled them away. "….But I'll let it slide for now. You can stay longer."

His frown disappeared in a flash and he broke into a grin, happily biting into his croissant as she leaned against her couch, watching him eat.

"S-so tell me about your day." He asked, and he almost seemed nervous when he asked it, looking at her with wide eyes as he bit into his pastry.

"Ooh! It was amazing! I got to… uh…"

Marinette looked at Chat in that moment and something inside of her cried out a little. She didn't want to talk about Adrien. She didn't want to tell Chat about her crush that she'd spent all day with. It felt strange, maybe even a little insensitive. This of course was ridiculous, seeing as how Chat was her friend and nothing more, especially as Marinette, but that didn't stop her from changing her words and saying,

"I got to spend all day with my _friend-_ you know- Adrien? The one you infected with puns?" Chat nodded, watching her with a sweet expression, as if he was completely enthralled with what she had to say.

"Well I got to model with him this morning, and I saw him wear one of the designs I made, and then we played video games and ate dinner and- ah! It was like one of my middleschool dreams coming true!" She said, biting her lip with giddiness and he smirked at her.

"Oh really? And hanging out with Chat Noir isn't a dream?" Chat said, carefully placing an arm around her shoulders so that she leaned up against him. To his surprise she didn't pull away though, she just rolled her eyes saying,

"Definitely not."

"Meow-ch. You know some people would say it's an honor to be visited by a superhero like me."

"What an honor, I get to be tortured by your awful puns…"

"I think you mean, ' _Purrfect'_ puns."

"You've got five minutes before I shove you off the balcony."


	4. Chapter 4

"Here you go Mrs. Cheng, just like you asked." Adrien said as he set down the photos on the counter and the small Chinese woman looked up from counting the money in the register. Then her hands flew to her cheeks as she 'oohed', making Adrien smile.

"Oh! Adrien these are so so nice, thank you! You look so handsome!" She cooed, reaching up to pat his cheek which made him turn a little red. Then she returned to the photos, holding them up and noting,

"Ah! And Marinette looks so beautiful! Doesn't she? Marinette!" She went behind the door to where the pastries were being made, photographs in hand. "Marinette, Adrien is here- and he brought over those pictures from the photoshoot, you look like you were made for each other-"

"WHAT?!"

Adrien cringed as he heard Marinette drop what sounded like a stack of pans and bowls, only to be followed by her tripping across the ground.

"Careful Ma Petite! You just missed that tray of croissants…"

"Sorry papa…"

Adrien busied himself by moving across the shop to inspect the frosting of some of the wedding cakes on display, pretending as if he hadn't heard the commotion as Marinette came around the corner, red faced. He turned around innocently, raising his eyebrows like he had only just gained the ability of hearing and had missed everything else.

"Do you like the photos Marinette? My dad thought they turned out nice, he actually admitted that you were a good model." Adrien said, and she deftly nodded, barely glancing at the photos her mother was showing off to her father beside her.

"Thank you for helping us out today Marinette, it's harder to get those big deliveries done in time without you around!" Her father said, looking away from the photos as Marinette took off her apron and hung it up, dusting off her black pigtails that made the flour look like stars between the inky strands.

"Oooh I know Papa, don't make me feel bad!" She said, pouting at him guiltily.

"Don't listen to him, he just wants to keep you here forever." Her mother laughed, and pushed her daughter in Adrien's direction.

Adrien couldn't help but imagine that was supposed to have a subliminal meaning behind it, but decided to ignore that.

"Are you ready to leave Marinette? I don't want to rush you, we do have an hour." Adrien asked, and she nodded contently, leading him from the shop with a wave goodbye towards her parents.

"It's fine! Besides, it's a nice day, we can walk the long way." Marinette said as the bell announced their departure, the door swinging shut behind them as they crossed the street.

"Sounds good to me." Adrien shrugged and they began to walk along the sidewalk, both of them glancing at their old school building beside them with a smile.

"I'm glad to be out of there…" Marinette laughed lightly, and he raised his eyebrows.

"Really? I loved school!" Adrien said rather sadly, and she puffed up her cheeks, looking as if she was mentally beating herself. "I mean, it's kind of nice to be away from school drama, and no homework has given me a lot extra time… But school was the only way I got to see you guys!"

"Oh- w-well yeah! I- I miss that too! But- I don't know- I guess it's nice to be working closer to a career, now I get to do what I love all the time!"

"Aww, Marinette, I'm flattered! Does that include spending time with me?" Adrien said with a little bit of a dramatic flourish, and she rolled her eyes.

Two weeks ago Marinette would have curled up and died right on the spot, but after spending at least a little bit of every day with her, Adrien had managed to convince her that ''perfect angel' Adrien Agreste was more of a dork than she had realized. He was still quiet and a little bashful around her, that was harder to hide without a mask, but his cheeky shameless flirting had somehow rose through it all. At first she'd been astounded and he'd been worried that he'd gone too far, but then she'd slowly become comfortable with the idea that Adrien was a teasing flirt. Maybe not as much as Chat, but definitely similar. This was what he'd been wanting for so long, for her to act more like he was just Chat, more like he was the real Adrien. Maybe he wasn't super flashy and he was actually shyer than he pretended to be with the mask, but regardless, the image Marinette had of him hadn't been who he wanted her to admire. He wanted her to know that he was more than her polite pretty faced friend.

"Ha ha. It does actually include that, otherwise I would have no one to hang out with." Marinette sighed, folding her arms and tossing her pigtails over her shoulder. Adrien bit back a comment about how she still had a certain cat who would come visit her, and just laughed.

Soon they reached her apartment and she ran inside quickly to grab her portfolio and sketchbook, throwing on a dress instead of her jeans and t-shirt that she'd been wearing before. Adrien was thumbing through the magazines in the fabric shop when she returned, many of which had his face on them.

"Do you think this dress is good for the occasion?" She asked, turning around and making his cheeks turn a little pink. It was very Marinette, simple and light pink, with a white trim. Then he flipped the magazine over so that a picture of his father was in front, holding it over his face and saying in an mock annoyed voice,

"How dare you come into my house dressed better than my son, and me for that matter, are you trying to make me look bad?"

"Oh my gosh Adrien, I'm telling him."

"I will do whatever you want if you promise never to say a single word." He said seriously, peering over the magazine to look at her trying desperately to hold back her laughter.

"Whatever I want?" She said, raising her eyebrows, her smile absolutely evil.

He had to flip the magazine around so his face was on the front as his real face turned red and he pushed the page into her face whispering,

"Whateeeever you waaaaaant!"

"Jeeze- You're making my lipstick smear, Adrien! Let's go!" Marinette cried, laughing as she pushed the magazine away from him, pulling it away from his hands and tossing it onto a table. He looked back for just a moment to smirk at the lipstick kiss sitting atop his photo's nose, and she tugged him by the elbow out the door.

It wasn't long before they reached his home and Adrien checked his watch.

"Right on time, that's good. My dad appreciates punctuality."

"Yes, it's been a struggle to live up to that standard." Marinette moaned, and he smiled, remembering his past few visits as Chat when she'd shoved him out onto the balcony, insisting that if she didn't get to sleep right away, then she'd be late for interning in the morning.

Adrien linked arms with her and walked up the stairs, catching a glimpse of Natalie who was hurrying past with her clipboard, muttering things to herself and giving them a curt nod.

They'd planned this evening for nearly a week now, Adrien being the driving force behind it because he wanted very much for his father to see how wonderful Marinette really was. He knew they saw each other frequently enough while she worked, but there was a difference between personalities in the workplace and at dinner.

His father, ever the antisocial and still wary after their fight, had been hard to convince, but after Adrien had told him about Marinette's portfolio he could look at, and how he wanted to fix things, his father had seemed to soften and give in.

Marinette still had no clue that they'd been fighting however, and Adrien was still planning on not telling her. He'd made this fact very clear to his father as well, refusing to let the evening go down in flames thanks to some off hand comment.

He was following Marinette's advice. They'd talk through this all, but first he wanted to show his dad, or at least try to show, how Marinette deserved every ounce of respect he could give her.

Adrien pushed open the door to the dining room, trying to calm the nervous itch running through him as soon as he met his father's eyes, who was sitting at the table already.

—

Marinette saw Gabriel first, looking just the same as he always did, sitting cooly at the end of the table as he watched them enter, and she gave a half nervous smile. So far her interaction with him at work had been him critiquing her work, giving her small compliments that she treasured and loading on comments that weren't rude but still seemed to cut her to the core. He was a daunting figure, but she knew he liked her work, even with all the fault he found in it. That gave her a glimmer of confidence and made her swallow her nervousness, walking forward with Adrien's presence guiding her ahead.

The next thing Marinette saw was a flash of color in her peripheral view and she glanced up to see a painting of Adrien's family. All of them. They looked so happy.

She glanced at the young boyish face that she'd once fallen in love with and then over to Adrien now, amazed at the change that had taken place over the years. His face was longer, cut sharper and there was no more remnants of baby fat clinging to his cheeks. He noticed her looking at him and his eyes turned towards her for a moment which made her swallow hard and smile very quickly before looking back forward to his father.

Adrien pulled out a chair for her and she quickly sat down, saying thank you as she scooted up to the table, Adrien joining her at her side.

"Nice to see you again Miss Dupain-Cheng." Gabriel said quietly and she nodded with a smile.

"You too, thank you for inviting me over."

This seemed to be the friendliest part of dinner however, as Marinette soon found it tumbling into the most awkward meal she had ever eaten in her life. She felt like Gabriel was scrutinizing her every move, the way she held her knife to how loud she allowed herself to laugh when Adrien tried to tell a joke. It was like she was next winter's fashion line and he was digging deep for any flaws it might contain.

"So what have you and Adrien been doing, I hear he practically lives at your apartment now." Gabriel said, finally asking Marinette something instead of Adrien trying to bring up a conversation. Adrien coughed uncomfortably, reaching for his water, and Marinette blinked for a moment, trying to think of what to say.

"W-Well he doesn't really live there! N-No! He only comes over for a little bit when he visits… we're both busy."  
Gabriel's eyes narrowed and he looked towards Adrien who was fidgeting a little bit as his father started quietly,

"Then where are you going-"

"Y-Yeah! We're both busy, but because Nino and Alya are gone, we only have each other to be friends with."  
"We… we video call them in fact… when we're together. So all four of us can be there."

Marinette said, confused at the tension between Adrien and his father. Did Gabriel really think that Adrien spent all day at her house? Ha. If only.

No, it was Chat who spent all hours at her house, his nighttime visits turning into day visits as well. Adrien would always call when he wanted to visit, but Chat just hung around on the rooftops, sometimes mewing till she got so fed up that she let him inside. If anyone was practically living at her house, it was Chat Noir.  
"I see… well what else do you two do?" Gabriel said, dropping his burning gaze from Adrien onto the food before him, and Marinette bit her lip in thought.

"Well… I beat him at video games!" She started laughing and Adrien smiled, but the atmosphere only seemed to grow tenser. She coughed to clear her throat and then continued,

"Most of the time I'm working on my projects though, and he'll just sit and talk to me while he…. hands me pins…" Marinette trailed off, not knowing what else to say. Thankfully Adrien jumped in for her and said brightly,

"Yes, father, her projects look great! She works really hard on them, you brought pictures of a few, didn't you Marinette?"

"Yes I-"

"And I'll be happy to look at them after dinner." Gabriel interrupted cooly, and Marinette's hand retracted from reaching towards her purse that not only held Tikki, but a few small photos of her work in progress pieces.

"Of course." She said softly, feeling a little pink as she nodded and returned to her food.

The rest of dinner, no matter what they did to try and fix it, was tense, though not completely awful. Marinette had expected this. Gabriel had always seemed like someone hard to understand or become close to. She hadn't expected him to treat her very differently than he did at work. Except for she had a feeling that he was more friendly at work than he was here with Adrien.

After dinner he seemed to warm up as he looked through her designs, but this was given more through the impression of him complimenting on her work. Adrien tried desperately to contribute as he pointed to a photo of a dress and said,

"That's my favorite one."

"And that's my least favorite." Gabriel simply returned, and continued on with his critique, leaving Adrien looking sulky. If it wasn't so tense, Marinette would have laughed.

—

"I just had, THE AWKWARDEST dinner with my father, Princess." Chat sighed as leaned over Marinette's balcony railing, watching her water her flowers.

"Oh really? I did too. But not with my father, it was Adrien's."

"Was it really that bad?" He asked, grimacing oddly at her words.

"….No… it was okay. But awkward is definitely a word I would use to describe it. That man is just… not really warm and fuzzy." Marinette said with a shrug, laughing nervously.

Chat stuck his tongue out at her and she smiled, watering the flowers and then jerking the pot a little so it splashed him too. The effect was wonderful, as he hissed and fell backwards onto the chair on the balcony, and she started laughing, covering her mouth.

"Watch out kitty, I may drench you on accident."

"I'll yell for help if you do."

"Pfft. The hero of Paris yelling for help against water. Which reminds me-" she set down the watering can and looked around at the apartments surrounding them. "How are you sneaking to come see me all the time, someone might spot you here. And more importantly, how do you do it in the DAY."

"I'm careful!" He cried as she gave him a disbelieving look. "I've had plenty of practice moving around at night, that's the only time I come to your balcony." Then he coughed a little and said,

"And I… uh… I may slip into your hallway as a civilian before I transform into Chat when I

come visit you during the day…"

"What?! What if my LANDLADY SEES YOU!" Marinette cried, appalled as she set down

her watering can.

"What? She'll just see me as a citizen, it'll be fine… And if she sees me as Chat, I'll just… tell her I needed to use her hallway to transform so I could go fight a monster. People are pretty chill with that excuse."

"You act like you've used it before." Marinette said, narrowing her eyes. She went into Ladybug mode when she needed to run around Paris and clear her head… But did Chat practically live and breath his superhero life? She shuddered to think of all the close calls he had due to his pure recklessness.

"Well regardless, you need to be very careful when you come visit me. I mean, if it wasn't so dark out here I'd never let you out on the balcony, someone may be watching already…" She said with a frown and he only smiled, taking her hand. He held it to his heart and said with a flourish,

"Ah, so you want to keep your secret love affair with the hero of Paris a secret?" She rolled her eyes.

"Pfft. Will you get back inside before I feel the urge to dump this water on you?" She said dully and he grinned, jumping into her apartment like a cat. She followed him and was tidying up the designs on her desk as he asked,

"Hey Marinette, can I have this cookie?" She glanced up to see him with the cupboard open, obviously having found her secret Tikki stash, near where she kept the cheese for his Kwami (and Adrien's visits.). Chat had become increasingly more familiar with her apartment, and, surprising herself, she was actually okay with that.

"Get out of my cupboards, and no. They belong to somebody else!" She said, and he made a face at her, looking back from the open cupboard.

"Who?!"

"Adrien." She lied, tossing her head. He rolled his eyes and shut the cupboard repeating the name in a mock voice. Then he muttered something under his breath and she turned her head saying,

"What?"

"NOTHING. Come on Marinette, I know you, you have more cookies than that in your house, you're like… the cookie fairy. You hide them everywhere. You have like 5 in your purse at all times." He said, starting to look under things till she came over and grabbed his hands saying,

"You need to eat more vegetables. If you keep eating cookies you're just gonna become a fat cat who can't run around Paris with Ladybug."

"But Marineeeeeette! I ALWAYS eat my vegetables, my dad NEVER lets me eat junk food!" He pouted and clung onto her shoulders saying in a choked voice, "You're my soul cookie provider."

Marinette smirked and shaked him off her shoulders, showing him her hand that held a stack of cookies in it. He gasped and took them, grinning at her like a child as he happily ate them.

"Do you want some milk for those?" She asked, moving over to the fridge to take out the milk and then a couple glasses.

" _S'il vous plait._ " He nodded, his words muffled by the amount of cookie in his mouth, and she began to pour them both milk.

As they sat and ate cookies they talked about their less than grand experiences of the day, Chat saying very little compared to Marinette, and by the end there was a feeling of content glumness, where each felt a little sad, but still better about having talked to each other. That didn't mean they didn't part with a smile though as Chat looked at the clock and said quickly,

"Oh! Gotta bounce! Thank you again for lending an ear, Princess." He took her hand gently and pressed his lips onto her knuckles.

"You're welcome." She said, and Marinette, maybe out of instinct or pure gratefulness towards her partner, bent down and gave him a kiss on the cheek. He pulled back, looking mildly surprised, his pupils large for a moment before they returned to normal and he smiled a little, giving her a little salute and leaving out the balcony.

Marinette couldn't help but giggle a little at the lipstick he was smudging with his fingers distractedly as he ran over the rooftops out of sight.

—-

Adrien sighed as he walked through the door, touching his cheek still as he smiled at the ground happily. Plagg had been laughing quietly inside his jacket since they'd transformed, and Adrien had chosen to ignore him.

"Adrien!" The voice was not calm and he froze in place before turning around with grit teeth. Gabriel stood there, looking absolutely furious, and Natalie stood near him, not looking at Adrien, but at her clipboard.

"What?" He said, hoping he didn't sound like a brat when he said it, but still feeling like there was a bitterness to his tone that he couldn't take back.

"Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

"I'm home on time and you shouldn't be made at me?" Adrien said, narrowing his eyes and making his father scowl.

"You said you were walking her home."

"And I DID." Adrien huffed, crossing his arms and looking right back at his father. If his dad wanted to mess up another great moment he'd had with Marinette, Adrien was not going to slink away upset. This was what Marinette had said anyways, they needed to talk it out. And it looked like that time had come.

"Walking someone home doesn't usually take hours. And when Nathalie or I call you, we expect you to answer."

"I'm sorry, sometimes I turn off my phone so I can give other human beings my full attention when they need it. It was only an hour and a half anyways, why are you so upset?! I would have just gone to bed otherwise." Adrien said, rolling his eyes. He actually left his phone on all the time, but sometimes as Chat Noir he forgot it was on him so it disappeared in the transformation. He usually tried to make sure it wasn't on him, so he could tuck it into his pocket later.

"It's not only your lack of communication that upsets me Adrien, it's the fact that you and Miss Dupain-Cheng are _lying_ to me." Gabriel said accusingly and Adrien's stomach dropped, taken aback.

"Lying? Lying about what?!"

"She said you don't spend a lot of time at her apartment, _but that's all you ever do_. As soon as you have a free moment you disappear, often without telling us where you're going!" Gabriel said, and Adrien gulped, but kept his eyes narrowed.

"And what proof do you have that I'm spending all my time there?"

"Say it to my face if you are so sure you don't." His father said coldly and Adrien snapped right back,

"Adrien Agreste does not spend all his time with Marinette Dupain-Cheng." He said it with no waver at all, because it was the most truthful thing he could say in that moment. Adrien _didn't_ visit Marinette constantly. Maybe _Chat Noir_ did, but definitely not _Adrien_.

Gabriel grit his teeth and turned away from him, motioning his head a little towards Nathalie, who only looked even more depressed and glum than usual.

"Adrien, we do have proof. Actually, the press does. And that's what makes this so much worse." Nathalie said, sounding exhausted as she picked up a magazine from her clipboard and handed it to Adrien. It was pictures of him walking around with Marinette, the times he did visit her, and then there were other pictures…. Later at night. Taken from around corners as Adrien Agreste was definitely walking around the area of the fabric shop, and definitely looking happy.

Adrien groaned a little in the back of his throat, feeling sick. Sometimes he'd duck into an alley immediately after leaving and then transform back into Adrien to walk home. And apparently people had caught him.

He was just lucky they hadn't gotten a photo of Chat Noir yet. Thank goodness for the black suit, quick movements, and Marinette's camouflaging plants.

"Fine. I'll admit to something, but it isn't what you think." Adrien said cooly, handing the magazine gushing over Adrien's 'incredibly adorable and secret love affair', back over to Nathalie. "I do walk around there a lot, I like that part of town. And sometimes I want to go visit Marinette more, but I can't get up the nerve to do it so I don't."

"I don't believe you I hope you know, but I'll act like that isn't a factor because until I have more solid proof you're technically innocent. But not only are you lying to me, you're also admitting to breaking another promise." Gabriel said, and Adrien had to double take, beyond confused now.

"What?!"

"You promised you were going to start pursuing a different career, right? Looking into science or whatever it was. I was giving you a chance to prove yourself-"

"I have been! Marinette has been helping me! She's helped me look up different schools, what they need for applications, what they look for-"

"Oh yes, I'm sure that's ALL you ever do with her." Gabriel griped, rolling his eyes and Adrien felt his patience snap.

"OF COURSE NOT! She's my FRIEND. I'm allowed to have a social life and do fun things too! Believe it or not, that's what us _humans_ like to do."

Nathalie cleared her throat to stop from making a surprised sound, or a laugh, or anything, and her wide eyes looked down at her clipboard like nothing had happened. Apparently it wasn't just his friends that called his father an emotionless robot.

"A friend? Why don't you go wash your face before you try telling me that again." Mr. Agreste pointed at him, and Adrien's hand shot up to his cheek, pulling away his fingers to see red lipstick smudged on them. This wasn't working. Adrien closed his eyes and gave a shaky sigh, and then balling his fists he said cooly,

"Look. I don't care what you assume about me anymore. You're never going to trust me, and you're never going to approve of me spending time with people I care about. I thought… when you let me go to public school… that you'd let friends be a bigger part of my life. I thought you'd get better, but you never did." he opened his eyes to look straight back into his father's, who had a very unreadable expression on his face.

"My friends are the most important gift I've ever been given in my life, even if you can't see that. So don't you DARE hurt Marinette because of this. Don't give her a hard time at work. I'm not lying to you, and she has no idea any of this is going on, leave her out of it."

Gabriel looked like he was choking on a lot of words before he said testily,

"Miss Dupain-Cheng is in no danger professionally from this. I wouldn't let my best intern go just because she and my son are lying to me over some petty love affair."

Adrien took in a deep breath through his nose and then shrugged and said bluntly,

"Good. Then I don't care what you think anymore. As long as she's safe, I don't care if you think I'm lying, and I don't care if you don't trust me. I don't care what you have to say anymore at all. I'm going to bed." Adrien turned on his heels and started walking up the stairs to his room and he knew he had far from fixed the situation. He'd shattered it.

"ADRIEN!" his father yelled at him, but he refused to even flinch, he only kept walking.

" _Adrien, can't you appreciate everything I do for YOU?! I can't believe how UNGRATEFUL you are, I've set up your entire LIFE._ "

"Funny! I thought that was MY job!" Adrien said roughly, almost to his door now, and he could hear his father stomping up the stairs after him.

"Can't you appreciate the fact that I even let you LIVE here?! That I still take care of you?!" his father hissed loudly and Adrien stopped, his head ridiculously clear at that moment. He turned, looked at his father on the stairs, and said simply,

"Oh. You don't want me here? Okay. I was just staying for you."

Then he shut his door.

"Adrien!" he heard Nathalie call out to him, but he locked the door, knowing full well they had a key _but if they so much as put it in the lock…._

Plagg slipped out from Adrien's jacket, trembling a little and looking at him with his big green eyes. Adrien only gave him a quick glance before going to his closet and pulling out a backpack.

His father was monologuing outside his door loudly, not yelling, but talking very loud. But Adrien wasn't even listening to him. Everything was just a buzzing noise in his head as he fisted some clothes into his bag, a photo of his mother, his cheese stash for Plagg, his phone, his wallet with as much cash as he could find, a hairbrush and other things from his bathroom, the Valentine from "Ladybug" and lastly the lucky charm Marinette had given him long ago that he had tied onto his lamp.

"Come on Plagg. Claws out." Adrien said quietly, and the Kwami sighed from the top of Adrien's head where he'd been sitting. Soon it was Chat Noir slinging on his backpack and pushing open his window to lean out of it.

He could still hear his father.

Adrien swung himself onto the window sill and then jumped, using his staff to propel him up into the air until he was on the roof, sitting down for a moment to catch his breath.

Water hit his face and his cat ears twitched uncomfortably.

 _Ugh…. it's raining._

He sat there, feeling it lightly land on his nose and eyelids and he just tried to breathe, thinking hard about what he'd just done and what he was about to do.

He still didn't know where to go, but he definitely wasn't staying here. He also definitely knew who he was going to tell this about. He stood up, slicking the rain drops from his suit, and he heard two voices beneath him, getting gradually louder.

"Sir… sir he LEFT. He's not here anymore! He's not in the bathroom!" he could hear Nathalie's frantic voice and he sighed. She'd worry. Gorrilla would worry. ….Even his dad would worry.

But it was too late for that.

He didn't care anymore.

"Impossible, what did he do, climb out the window? Adrien, stop hiding like a child!"

"Well sir, you did install a rock climbing wall in his bedroom, I doubt he'd be afraid." Nathalie muttered loud enough for him to hear, and Adrien managed a laugh to himself as he watched her stick her head out his window, looking towards the ground.

He then extended his staff and his feet pushed off from his house, or what once had been his house. He didn't look back, and his heart didn't hurt at the thought of leaving his home.

Because it wasn't a home.

It was a house.

—

Marinette looked up from her sketching when she heard the familiar thud of Chat Noir landing on the balcony outside. She was surprised. Hadn't he just left a while ago?

"Chat?" she asked aloud as she closed her sketchbook, getting up from off the couch and pulling open the door. Rain came swooping in and she cursed under her breath a little, drawing back the door so it was only a crack as she looked outside.

He was sitting on the ground, trembling, and frantically pushing his soaked hair away from his face, breathing hard.

"Chat, get in here! It's pouring, you _hate_ being in the rain." Marinette cried, and he didn't look as her as he slipped inside, closing the window door behind him before landing back on the floor, his head in his hands. Marinette gulped, and kneeled down beside him, slicking the wet hair away from his eyes. Now that the window was closed it was quieter again and she realized that it wasn't just rain dripping down his cheeks. But by the way he ducked his head, it looked like he didn't want her to know that.

"Chat…" she said softly, her hand still sitting on his wet head. She sat up then and ran to the bathroom, bringing back the fluffiest and biggest towel she had, throwing it over his head as she hugged him around the neck. He laughed a little, hugging her back and saying hoarsely,

"Thanks Princess."

She pulled away and watched as he pulled off the wet backpack he had on and started rubbing his head with the towel, looking down at the ground still. After a few minutes of waiting he finally broke the silence saying,

"I left. We got in a fight. He's not going to change. So I left."

Marinette's heart sank and she hugged him again, pulling him down under her chin against her heart, and stroking his shoulder softly.

"I'm so sorry Chat." she said quietly, and he let out a sigh.

"It's okay. I actually feel good about it, even if I'm sick to my stomach… You were right. I needed to leave. And thank you for being here for me, I needed to talk to someone." he said, cuddling closer to her as she held him tighter.

"You're welcome. You're always there for me, I'll do the same for you." she said into the towel draped over his cat ears, and she felt them move on their own under her cheek. She knew that to him, being there for her was being a superhero and protecting the city, but her meaning was much deeper than that. He was there for her as a _partner._ He'd taken too many hits for her, too many to count and too many she didn't want to think about. She couldn't tell him that though… not yet. But she hoped he felt what she meant, heard it laced within her words, and understood that he was truly her best friend.

Chat cleared his throat and then began in a worn out voice,

"I have money with me, so don't worry. I'll go stay in a hotel or something until I can get another job. I might be doing what I was before with my father, but not for his company-"

Marinette interrupted him as she took him by the shoulders and pushed him out from her, looking at him eye to eye and saying without a single second thought,

"No. You're staying here."


	5. Chapter 5

Chat blinked at her. Then he tugged the towel off his head and said firmly,

"Absolutely not! I can't do that!"

"Of course you can, and of course you WILL."

"Princess, I'm blown away by your offer but I can't just live in your apartment." he said, shaking his head. She frowned and looked around saying,

"Why not? I see no reason against this. I think it's perfect, and I am NOT letting my cat become homeless. Besides, you practically live here anyways."

"No! I can't!"

"Why not?!" Marinette said, throwing her hands into the air.

"B… Because…" he struggled to think of a response and she rolled her eyes. "What if I have to leave during an attack!"

"Oh don't give me that excuse. If you've come to visit me enough times during broad daylight without a second thought, then you can handle that just fine." Marinette put the towel back over his head, fluffing his hair with it as she stood up.

"It's- It's indecent then!" he grasped for straws, his face bright red, and she laughed.

"PFFFFT! Indecent?! You may flirt, but it's hard for you to take your own medicine. And anyways," she smiled down at his burning and frustrated face. "I trust you more than anyone else not to pull something like that."

"But-"

"Nope. It's done. I have an extra room and everything, I'll go put your stuff in there." she said, grabbing his bag and running for it.

He was on his feet quickly, scrambling for her as she laughed, running into the extra room and locking the door behind her.

"Marine-"

"Shh! Kitty! Don't be so loud, my landlady is gonna hear you! No matter how much of a heavy sleeper she says she is!" She giggled, and he made a frustrated noise, knocking on the door. Marinette turned to the room and began moving all of her sewing things to one corner. It may be a little cramped when she wanted to work on her projects now, but she'd be okay with that. Marinette pulled off the garment bags from the bed, hanging up her designs on one side of the closet, and laying out extra blankets over the mattress. Outside of the door, Chat was continuing to talk saying,

"Marinette, I'm a superhero! This could put you at danger!"

Marinette rolled her eyes. She already dealt with that every day, little did he know.

"It won't really. As long as you stop going out on the balcony!" she responded, picking up his damp backpack from the floor and setting it on the bed for a moment, grabbing at the zipper and pulling it open.

"WAIT! MARINETTE!" She froze, the desperation in his voice jarring her for a moment, and she looked up from the bag.

"What?"

"Don't… don't look in my bag. There's stuff in there that would give me away…" he said weakly, and she let go of the bag like it had shocked her.

 _Oh yeah. This identity thing was going to be hard._

"Well then come unpack your own stuff…" she said nervously, and she unlocked the door. He slipped in, walking over to his things and picking up the bag… and then he ran for the door again.

"OH GET BACK HERE YOU MANGY-" Marinette pounced on Chat who had made it back into her living room, and he went down hard, his backpack skidding across the floor as she rolled with him, trying to pin him down on the floor. She grabbed the nearest pillow and started beating him with it, and they both were laughing and yelping as they wrestled on the floor.

They froze however when there was a loud knocking on the door, and the landlady's voice said in exhaustion,

"Marinette, I'm ecstatic that you're having such a nice time with your friend, but will you and Adrien please be a little quieter?"

Marinette looked down at Chat who she was pinning down, who was blinking up at her with a chalky white face.

"S-Sure thing! Sorry Mrs. Leroux!"

"It's alright. Goodnight."

"N-Night!"

They waited until the sounds of her neighbor disappeared, and then Chat smirked up at her whispering,

"Do you often pin Adrien Agreste to the floor?"

Marinette flushed and smothered his face with a pillow squeaking,

"DON'T SAY THOSE WORDS EVER AGAIN."

He broke into a laugh and tried to push her off, only causing her to beat him with a pillow more and they wrestled (quietly) on the floor for a few more minutes until they both stopped, breathing hard, surrounded by pillows, and facing each other. They were both grinning, and letting out little bursts of laughter and gasps, just staring at eachother until Chat, still laughing said,

"Are you… are you really…" his choked laughter slowly changed, and he was grinning painfully, with tears in his eyes.

"Are you really gonna let me stay?" he choked out, sobbing as he tried to grin, but he was crying too much. Marinette's heart ached and she put a hand up on his cheek, tears coming to her eyes too as she answered back,

"Of course I will. Chat, it's going to be okay."

Then she pulled his head down to her collar bone, curling around him as he choked on sobs, shaking and pulling her closer to him, thanking her over and over again through his thick tears.

—

"Hey Marinette."

"Yeah?" she asked, absentmindedly, nearly finished with her design that had been interrupted when Chat came earlier.

"If we're going to be roommates, you need to meet the third person living here."

That made her look up in surprise and she yelped a little when she saw Chat standing there with a towel over his head and face, and out of his uniform.

"W-Wow wow wow- we need an ALWAYS transformed rule here and-"

"Hey there, can I have your pencil? It's shiny." Marinette's eyes widened and she tore her eyes from the boy who was behind Chat's mask, standing there in a tshirt and shorts, down to her lap where there was…

A tiny black cat… Thing…. Kwami.

"Sorry- He- augh, Plagg! I was going to explain first before you came out!"

"Booooring. Hey Marinette-" the tiny black cat flew up to her ear and then whispered in it, "I know you're Ladybug and you know what a Kwami is, but at least try to act surprised about my existence."

Marinette yelled aloud before slapping a hand over her mouth, throwing her sketchbook at him.

"Not _THAT_ surprised!" The black Kwami yelled at her angrily, dodging the book.

Marinette gasped for breath, staring at him. _HE KNEW WHO SHE WAS_. Chat however, seemed to think she was terrified of the fact there was a tiny flying creature talking to her, and he quickly snatched his Kwami out of the air, the towel falling down around his shoulders as he faced away from her.

"Sorry! Oh gosh- You're probably scared- I know- it's kind of weird- but he's the reason I can transform. I was trying to explain it to you once- he's the thing that needs all that cheese? He's- He's called a Kwami- his name is Plagg though- and- oh man I've never tried to explain this to someone- this is hard." Chat moaned, his shoulders bunching up and she stared at the back of his head. His hair looked so… tame. It was weird.

 _Maybe that's because it's still a little damp._

"N-No, that- that's okay! I guess- I guess it makes sense you'd have something magic to help you, you're just a normal person out of the suit… I… I should have expected that." Marinette said quietly, trailing off as she looked away from his nervous and tense shoulders.

"So it was… Plagg?" Marinette asked, and Chat sat down beside her, keeping his face turned as he let go of his Kwami.

"Yes, that's right. Did you buy more cheese since I last ate some?"

"Uh… there's a little bit left in the cupboard above the oven." she said, shrugging, and he zoomed off, leaving them sitting on the couch. Marinette leaned over and picked up her sketchbook, sketching again as Chat tapped his foot awkwardly on the floor. Then he began to speak quietly and she knew this was the conversation she'd been dreading.

"Marinette… It… It would be a lot easier if…"

"Chat I don't want-"

"Please let me tell you who I am, I trust you Marinette!" he interrupted her, and she bent over her sketchbook, her heart thumping.

"No… I can't."

He slumped against the couch a little, obviously disappointed, and she tried not to think about how his face was _right there_. A stranger. It shouldn't have mattered if she was just Marinette who didn't know who he was. But _it did_ matter.

"Someday… I promise you can tell me. But not right now." she said softly, and her stomach flip flopped as she remembered saying the same thing to him only a few years ago, as Ladybug, not Marinette.

That's why she wanted to wait. She wanted it to be between Ladybug and Chat Noir, not Marinette and Chat Noir. It felt wrong to have it happen any other way than between them as partner to partner.

"Okay." his voice was a little choked, and she swallowed, her guilt from last time they'd had this conversation beginning to rise up in her throat. He probably wanted it between partners too… but she had a feeling the rejection had been a little harder for him to cope with, him being the more eager one to finally let go of the secret.

"You've been through a lot tonight Chat, let's not add to the drama." she said, setting her sketchbook to the side and pulling her knees up onto the couch, laying her head against his shoulder.

"Okay. You're right." he said, sounding a little more mollified at this, and his head fell atop hers. Marinette tapped her pencil on her knee, distracted as she thought about a lot of things. This identity thing was going to be hard. How in the world was she supposed to live in the same apartment as Chat Noir and not know who he was, while keeping her own identity a secret?

"We are going to need rules Chat."

"I know."

"First, always transformed, unless you give me PLENTY of warning."

"I knoooow."

"Second, if my landlady EVER happens to hear you… pretend to be Adrien, because she knows who that is and knows he comes over often."

"….I think I can do that."

"Third, oh gosh-" Marinette covered her face from embarrassment and continued, "if Adrien ever comes by unexpected please just hide in the closet or something. But he usually calls first, so I think we'll be alright."

Chat started laughing, and she smacked him on the knee, blushing.

"Why do you think that's so funny?!" She snapped and he continued to laugh weakly saying,

"I- um- aha- nothing, nothing, It's not going to be a problem, I won't embarrass you in front of your crush."

"HE- CHAT- I-"

"Shh, it's okay." he laughed, ruffling her hair and making her glare as she tried her best to keep her face turned away from him.

They fell into silence and he reached over, taking her hand in his and holding it tightly. She stared at it. It was so strange to know that this was Chat, but to be looking at skin. No claws, no black suit, just a large hand that her small one fit into, light calluses on his palm and fingertips.

"Thank you… again." he said quietly, and she smiled, shaking her head.

"You've already said that enough, Chat."

"I know. But that's not going to make me stop."

She pulled her hand from his and then laced her arms around his middle, laughing as she sighed and hugged him tight. He held her back and they didn't move until Plagg came back from eating cheese and moaned that he was tired.

After Chat went to his new room and had closed the door behind him, Marinette leaned against its frame and said,

"Goodnight Chat Noir. I hope you sleep well."

"I think I will Princess. Thank you."

Marinette smiled, biting her lip as she turned out the light and went to her own room, falling across the mattress. Tikki finally came out, smiling at her and landing on the pillow beside Marinette's head.

"I'm crazy Tikki. I can't believe I'm actually sharing an apartment with Chat Noir, this is ridiculous." She moaned quietly, blushing as she smacked her palm onto her forehead.

"I can believe it." Tikki giggled, and Marinette only smiled. Then she frowned and

propped herself up on her pillow asking,

"Do you know who Chat Noir is? Because Plagg knew who I was."

Tikki laughed nervously and said,

"Uh…. well… I do."

"Ugh, Tikki…." Marinette moaned, falling onto her back and covering her face.

"Only because Plagg told me! Ugh! He always does this. I've only known for a week or two…. We uh… accidentally bumped into each other. He was stealing cheese from you, while I was eating cookies."

Marinette laughed in exhaustion, getting under her covers.

"I'm glad you let him stay Marinette. He really needed help. Plagg was just talking to me about it. He was really worried about him, and Plagg only worries about cheese." Tikki said, curling up in front of Marinette's face on her pillow, making the girl frown in concern.

"He would do the same for me in a heartbeat. I had to. I'm glad he's safe now."

—

Adrien was probably not going to sleep tonight, even though for the first time in a long while he actually felt comfortable in a bed. But there was so much running through his head, he couldn't go to sleep unless he addressed every thought.

He hadn't wanted to tell Marinette who he was earlier that night. If he told her, there was a chance that she'd be upset at his father enough to make work an awful experience, and he truly didn't want that.

But as he'd unpacked and hidden his personal things in the drawer beside the bed, he'd been overwhelmed with the thoughts of staying there with her. It was going to be… so hard. Now there was another girl who he wanted more than anything to tell his secret to, and to be a whole person around. He wanted to be free to give her a hug goodnight as Adrien, and for her to know who she'd just saved.

If he explained the situation with his father well enough, then she might be willing enough to forgive his father and continue working without any drama. He knew he could convince her to do that if he tried hard enough. So, even though the thought had terrified him, he'd asked Marinette if he could tell her who he was.

But when Marinette had given him that answer, the same one Ladybug had given him time after time, it kind of stung. He didn't understand why knowing who he was was such a terrifying thought to her. If she was willing enough to let him live with her, then knowing who he was really wasn't that big of a deal either. But if she was uncomfortable with it, then he'd leave her alone.

 _She probably is Ladybug. That's why._

Adrien frowned and shook his head, angry at himself for drifting back to that thought. He hadn't even seen Ladybug in weeks. A month at least. He was getting desperate for her company again and he was once again pushing her attributes onto Marinette.

But he _refused_ to make Marinette a substitute for Ladybug. Marinette was Marinette, and one of the most selfless people he knew. She'd taken him in, and he was not going to repay her by dressing her up as Ladybug in his mind.

Adrien sighed and turned on his side, pulling out the phone that had been vibrating every hour or so since he'd left the mansion. He supposed it was time to face the storm, even if that meant only reading messages and choosing not to reply to them.

Surprisingly enough, there were only messages from Nathalie.

Adrien, please let us know you're alive.

Adrien, if you came back home it would make my life a whole lot easier.

Your father is very upset, and he refuses to call you, I hope you know it's my own choice to be contacting you now.

Adrien, do you plan on modeling for the photo shoots until I can find a replacement? I'll make sure you're paid. I just don't want this to turn into an explosive affair, more than it already is.

Adrien, I can track you on your phone but I won't do it. I only ask that you tell me if you're coming home or not. I am concerned. I really am. You know I'd drop whatever schedule I had planned, just for you. I promise I care more about your well being than any work obligations I may have.

Adrien rubbed at his eyes and convinced himself that he hadn't just started to tear up again. He was already embarrassed enough from crying in front of Marinette for nearly thirty minutes when the shock had caught up to him. But the thought of a frazzled Nathalie dealing with his furious father along with the weight of her complex schedule, pricked at his heart a little. It wasn't fair to her that all this had happened. He'd just thrown a wrench into her already stressful life, and yet she still sent him texts asking if he was okay. Adrien swallowed the lump in his throat and carefully thumbed out a message back to her.

I'm not going to come back. I needed to leave and I think you know that. I'm perfectly safe where I'm staying, don't worry or look for me. I'll keep modeling for the shoots, I'm sorry to have caused you so much stress. I'm mad, but I'm not mad enough to sabotage the entire company. Thank you for being concerned about me Nathalie, you've always tried your best to help me, it means a lot. Please get some sleep.

He sent the message and sighed shakily, putting the phone face down beside his pillow. It only rested there for a minute though before it buzzed again and he quickly opened the new text from Nathalie.

Thank you Adrien.

He smiled, still feeling guilty over how distraught he'd made her feel, and he set the phone down again, trying to calm his nerves. The phone buzzed again and he lifted it to see what else Nathalie had to say.

But it was from Marinette, not Nathalie.

M: Hey Adrien? (Ah! I really hope I'm not waking you up, I know it's late!)

He smiled, curling up under the blankets and texting her back quickly.

A: You didn't, don't worry. :) What's up?

It boggled his mind a little bit to think she was texting him from the next room over and had no idea he was only a few feet from her.

M: I just wanted you to know that I still had a nice time at dinner, even if your dad isn't really excited about socializing, hahaha! X)

I mean, I don't have anything against him, really, I really don't!

But I could tell you wanted me to have a nice time and you looked a little sad it wasn't going how you wanted.

But it was okay! It really was!

Her texts were coming quickly, and he could almost hear her stuttering voice telling it to him. Adrien laughed lightly, and shook his head. He'd almost forgotten that it was only a few hours earlier that they'd been sitting to dinner with his father. It seemed like it had happened weeks ago.

A: It's really okay Marinette, I'm glad you still had a nice time. My dad is always like that, it's hard to get him out of his shell. I don't think I've even managed to do that, hahaha! XD

M: Okay. :)

A: You should get some sleep, it's really late! Leave the late nights to me, I'm not the one interning tomorrow!

M: Haha, you're right, I almost forgot, thanks!

A: You're welcome. :)

M: Oh! Adrien, one more thing. Do you want to hang out next on the 12th?

Adrien hummed a little to himself, smiling. She must be paranoid about him running into her secret room mate and was now trying to schedule their times to hang out just to be safe. He felt bad for laughing over it, but it was kind of funny. She was worrying over the impossible.

A: The 12th is this Saturday, right? Sure thing, should we do a video call to Nino and Alya again?

M: Yeah, does 10:00 sound good to you? Lunch after?

A: Yep! Sounds great!

M: Okay. Goodnight!

A: Night! :)

Adrien yawned and turned off his phone, setting it in the drawer alongside his other personal things, and then burrowing deeper into the covers of his bed.

He was warm, Plagg was sleeping quietly nearby on a pile of Marinette's fabric clippings, the bed was absolutely not as soft or big as his old one and Adrien could not care less.

This home was small, and it was Marinette's. And now it was partly his too, he could barely comprehend it.

It was a home.

—

Marinette yawned as she carried her yogurt and cereal to the table, numbly mixing it together and eating it in the quiet of the kitchen. It was a few minutes before Chat stumbled out of his room, and sat across from her, yawning truly like a cat.

"Maybe next time we don't stay up that late playing video games." Marinette said quietly between mouthfuls of her breakfast.

"Mmmm." he said, his forehead resting on his arms as he continued, "At least it's Saturday. No work, right?" Marinette sighed happily, nodding.

So far having Chat for a roommate was not as complicated as she thought it would be. She still had interning, and Chat said he was still going to work for his father until they adjusted to not having him anymore, and when they both were home they would either be doing their own things around the apartment or they'd hang out together.

She killed him in video games, even though he was at least a challenge to play against.

Marinette wanted more than anything to see him and Adrien battle each other, just so she could see who would win. But for now their secret was pretty well kept. Chat said he could easily slip out of the apartment as a civilian, as long as he looked inside the shop to see if Mrs. Leroux was there or not.

Marinette could not believe her landlady hadn't noticed a stranger around her shop more and more frequently, but she supposed the woman had more things to worry about than keep track of suspicious young men. She was just glad there had been no disaster and that his secret was still a secret.

"Here kitty." she said, unscrewing the milk carton beside her and pouring some in a little dish, pushing it towards him. He stared at it for a minute and then up at her, thoroughly unimpressed.

"No."

"I bet as soon as I turn my back you're gonna drink it."

He sighed and covered his face with his hand whispering,

"Probably."

Marinette laughed and ruffled his hair, making him smile at her.

"Today will be nice. It's been a hard week, I'm ready to have some fun." she sighed, and he nodded. Marinette finished her cereal and yogurt and then took her dish over to the sink, only to turn and see Chat bringing over an empty dish. She smirked at him and he put the dish in the sink saying defensively,

"Well I wasn't going to waste all that milk, sheesh." Then he grabbed a croissant from a bag on top of the fridge and made a face at her before biting into it.

"Suuuure." she flicked his bell and he pouted at her, turning a little red. "I wonder if I should go to the store and pick up some cat toys for you today, it would be fun to make you chase a laser around the apartment."

"Ha. I 'd like to see you try-" Chat was interrupted by the sounds of screams and both of them tensed. Marinette ran to the balcony window and threw it open, looking out with wide worried eyes. There were people running in the streets, and far off she could see an explosion of what looked like paper, swirling like a tornado in the street.

"It's an akuma. You better-" she turned to see Chat smiling the widest smile she'd ever seen. She frowned.

"Why are you smiling?! People are in danger!"

"Ah yes, but Marinette," he was already taking out his staff and running past her, looking back for just a moment to say, "I haven't seen My Lady in so long."

Marinette's heart stopped, and she watched him jump from the window and onto the nearest building, speeding towards the area of the attack. Tikki emerged as soon as he'd left and said urgently,

"Come on Marinette, let's hurry!"

Marinette looked at her and nodded, transforming quickly. But her mind was at a stand still. At that moment Chat had looked like the happiest person she'd ever met. His eyes had shone with the purest excitement, and his voice had been filled with the most heartfelt tone she'd ever listened to.

"Tikki… I think he actually is in love with me." she murmured as she bounded after her cat over rooftops.

—

Adrien landed on the paper littered ground with a confident smirk. All around him there were people running and yelling, though a few had cheered when he'd shown up. The akuma was in front of him, swirling atop a tornado of papers, and too high for him to make out. All around him there were mounds of paper with citizens crying for help underneath, and he tugged a few free as he waited for Ladybug to show up.

She did land beside him only a minute after, and he grinned as soon as she appeared.

"Good to see you My Lady." he said, and she smiled at him, thought her face was a little strange.

"You too Chaton." she whispered quietly, and he tried not to betray his excitement.

"So who do you think has been-" she was interrupted by a long car pulling up and a tall, cold eyed figure emerging from inside. Adrien froze. It was his father. He couldn't be more than five feet away from him, and all at once the panic and stress of their fight came rushing back. His father didn't even glance at them however, he walked right up to the swirling mass of papers and narrowed his eyes.

"And now my schedule is in even worse shambles than it was before." he muttered, and the tornado of papers froze in place. It was startling to say the least, when all at once the rustling sound was silenced and it was deadly quiet in the street. The head of the akuma whipped around and the papers seemed to bow underneath her till she was lowered straight down, floating above their heads.

"Nathalie." Adrien breathed, feeling his hands clench.

Her face was white except for bright red lipstick, and her hair was coming undone from her bun, falling down around her face in loose pieces. She was wearing a black blouse and pencil skirt, with shiny black shoes, and her eyes were dark with anger. She didn't look much different from her everyday self other than that though.

" _What did you do to her?!_ " Adrien absolutely spat at his father, turning towards him with trembling shoulders. His father finally looked towards him, his eyes wide as they stared at one another. There was a blank surprised expression on his face as he regarded the superhero who was shaking he was so angry.

Ladybug looked scared as well, but only because of how angry Chat was, and she pulled him back saying quietly,

"Chat… calm down."

" _It's your fault she's like this, isn't it? What did you do?!_ " he snapped at his father, and the man narrowed his eyes, still regarding him in the strangest way.

"My assistant has always been under pressure, that's her job. This isn't a surprise to me, we went through a very difficult experience lately and it was obviously too much for her to handle all at once." Gabriel said, lifting his head a little as he kept his eyes locked with Adrien's.

"You look like you don't even care!" Adrien said coldly, and Ladybug frowned.

"Chat, you need to calm down." she said, taking him by the shoulders. "We'll fix this okay? I need you." He gulped, nodding, as he turned to face Nathalie.

She'd waited silently for them to finish talking, it was eerie actually. Now that she saw the attention was on her she said cooly,

"I am Formalités, and today we have a heavy schedule to keep. First, the miraculouses, and second, you sir." she said, turning her gaze to look at her employer who only smirked a little, like it was funny she even dared threaten him.

"We'll see if you keep to that schedule, seeing as how you muddled up today's after all." he almost laughed and Ladybug had to firmly grasp Adrien's arm before he super hero punched his dad in the face. Nathalie snapped her fingers and an enormous pile of papers appeared over his head and the limo. His eyes flashed for a second, and Ladybug's yoyo pulled the man out of the way before the papers fell with a heavy thud on top of what was once his car with Gorrilla still inside.

"Get out of here Mr. Agreste! We'll get her back to normal!" Ladybug yelled, and the man muttered about being busy today and ran away. Adrien was livid, but he tried to keep it down as he dodged a pile of papers that fell from the air in only a few seconds.

"Fine with me. I've got all the time in the world to finish my schedule, as long as it gets done." Formalités said lightly, flicking her hand to the side and making the papers spin towards the fighting duo. "But trust me, I won't be wasting time." she added, and Adrien rolled out of the way, thinking Ladybug was right behind him. She was. For a second.

"CHAT!" he heard her cry before it was muffled, and he whipped around to see her red suited fingertips becoming buried beneath papers. He didn't even think, he just pulled back his claws yelling,

"CATACLYSM!" His burning palm landed hard on the papers covering Ladybug before he pushed off from them to avoid another wave of papers. He watched the pile turn to ash, falling down and revealing his Lady crouched with her arms shielding her face.

"Thanks Chaton!" she cried, jumping right back into action as she scaled the nearest building, trying to get to higher ground so she could attack from above.

"You're welcome! Although this means I've only got five minutes…" he sighed, moving to high ground the same as her.

"It's alright, she snaps before the papers appear, if I watch out for that then I won't get caught under them again! So if you have to leave, don't worry about me!" she said, jumping down from their spot on a roof before trying to yoyo the black clipboard away from Formalités. Papers were flying and Formalités only continued to dodge their attacks, and his ring was beeping way too much.

"Chat, get out of here and then come back when as soon as you can, it's okay!" Ladybug said with a frown as she caught him glancing down at his ring and biting his lip.

"Okay.. just be careful! Don't get a paper cut!" he yelled as he extended his staff and propelled himself over the buildings till he was safely out of sight.

Plagg let go of the transformation and Adrien immediately was pushing cheese towards him.

"Come on, hurry Plagg!" he said in concern and Plagg made a face at him.

"Sheesh, you sure seem anxious to get back to this fight…" Adrien frowned and moved through the alleyway till he could peer out and down the street to see Ladybug fighting the swirling tornado of paperwork.

"Well… it's Nathalie. It's just… it just feels weird. And different. Like when I had to fight Nino as the Bubbler… Wow that was a long time ago." Adrien said, leaning against the wall as the fight slowly drew closer to him.

"Do you feel bad, since it's kinda your fault? Because you shouldn't feel bad." Plagg asked through a mouthful of cheese, and Adrien's attention snapped towards him.

" _My fault?!_ This is my _Dad's_ fault!" he said, feeling his blood rising.

"Well he probably pushed her over the edge, but I'm sure you leaving didn't help." Plagg sighed, swallowing a chunk of cheese. Adrien frowned, his lips pressing together tightly.

"Hey hey hey, don't get upset. I'm just saying, that might be why you feel weird about it. I mean, when Nino got turned into the Bubbler it had to do with you too." Plagg said, obviously trying to backtrack when he saw the look on Adrien's face, and he quickly shoved the rest of the cheese into his mouth.

"My fault…" Adrien murmured as he watched Formalités grow closer. "Are you almost done Plagg-"

"LUCKY CHARM!" Ladybug's voice interrupted him and he looked up at her in worry. She was either desperate or was winning the fight. And it looked more like desperate. He watched as a glossy sheet of paper appeared before her and she snatched it out of the air. Then he watched as her face turned to confusion and she cried,

"Seriously?! I know I should trust my Lucky Charms more, but how is a photo of Adrien going to help me here?!"

He blinked. He was curious too. So curious he didn't pay attention to Plagg poking his cheek and mumbling he was ready through a cheese stuffed mouth.

Ladybug turned the photo around and pushed it out towards Formalités yelling in frustration,

"DOES THIS MAKE YOU WANT TO STOP?!"

Formalités only snapped her fingers, looking unimpressed, and Ladybug yelped before dodging the pile of papers and jumping away from the building, rolling onto the ground of the street and back onto her feet, his photo still caught beneath her fingers.

Then Adrien felt like his mind went completely clear for a moment.

 _You know I'd drop whatever schedule I had planned, just for you._

"Kiiiid-" Plagg said in confusion and worry as Adrien suddenly bounded forward into the street and the Kwami had to slip into Adrien's jacket to hide.

"NATHALIE!" he cried aloud, and Ladybug looked over at him with wide eyes.

"Adrien?! Get out of here, being covered in a pile of papers isn't a great way to spend your morning!" she said, looking shocked that he'd suddenly appeared onto the scene.

"Adrien." Formalités had stopped, the papers slowly down immediately till they were only drifting slowly around her as she floated down towards the ground. Ladybug held her yoyo ready, looking back and forth between the clipboard and Adrien.

"Hey Nathalie." he said, smiling weakly and waving his hand.

"…It's Formalités actually." Formalités said, and Ladybug began making a fantastic expression of confusion.

"Well it's still Nathalie under all the Formalités right?" Adrien laughed nervously, nearing her as Ladybug facepalmed, obviously too lost to follow. Formalités cocked her head a little bit, looking at him curiously, and he drew even closer.

"Nathalie, you said you'd drop any schedule for me, didn't you?" he asked quietly, and she blinked. The glowing outline of a butterfly appeared over her eyes and he grit his teeth, trying to butt into whatever Hawkmoth was trying to tell her by saying intently, "Would you drop this one for me?"

She stared at him, the butterfly still hovering over her eyes, and he refused to break eye contact with her. He reached out and took ahold of the top of her clipboard. She didn't let go.

Then he stood up on his toes to fully reach her as she floated above him, and he wrapped his arm around her, giving her a hug. Adrien smiled as he felt her let go of the clipboard and hug him back.

"I've always given into you, haven't I Adrien? I can't say no to you for long." she sighed, sounding almost disappointed in herself as she shook her head a little bit and Adrien tossed the clipboard over to an open mouthed Ladybug. He hugged the woman back tightly then as he listened to Ladybug snap the clipboard in half and purify the akuma inside. He let go of Formalités then, who folded her arms, looking at them sadly as she watched the butterfly fly away.

Ladybug turned to him, still holding his photo and he winked at her saying,

"I guess I'm you're Lucky Charm, huh Ladybug?" He blushed, realizing how forward that sounded, but it was nothing compared to the shade she turned in response.

"B-But what about th- the-" she held out the photo of him helplessly.

"Well I doubt you could throw _me_ into the air and fix everything." he laughed, shrugging his shoulders, and she blinked at him.

"O-Oh! Right- you're right. Haha…" she turned away from him and tossed the photo into the air, nearly stuttering over the words 'Miraculous Ladybug'.

Soon the street was free of papers and the trapped people were breathing fresh air again, no longer beneath piles of paperwork. Nathalie was back too and she massaged her head, groaning a little bit.

"Nathalie, you're back!" Adrien said happily, wrapping her into a hug, and she looked shocked.

"Adrien? Oh dear. What did I do…"

"It's not your fault. Everything's fixed now! I promise I'm going to make sure you get the rest of the day off though!" Adrien said firmly, and Ladybug smiled.

"Thanks for your help Adrien. Have a great rest of your day!"

"You too Ladybug." he said happily back, physically restraining himself from raising his arm to do a fist bump with her.

She saluted and then ran off, and he smiled. But he stopped as soon as he heard her calling out for Chat Noir.

 _Crap._

"Uh… I gotta go… But… please, take care of yourself Nathalie. I really am okay, don't worry about me." Adrien said, and he began to back away as Gorilla drove up in the limo, having been unearthed. She gave a slight nod, still looking a little lost from the events that had just happened, and he hoped his smile was comforting enough. Then he waved and ran off, feeling heavy in his heart, but still a little happy that he got to see her.

As soon as he was out of sight he transformed again and he flew over the rooftops towards Ladybug's voice. He spotted her and called out her name, landing on the rooftop and saying excitedly while brandishing his baton,

"Alright Ladybug, I'm recharged and ready to go, let's get back to the fight!" She laughed and pushed down his staff with her palm saying,

"Chat Noir, the fights over, didn't you notice the lack of paper littering the streets?"

He feigned surprise, looking around him quickly before pouting and folding his arms.

"Well I feel useful." he said, rolling his eyes, and she frowned at him.

"Come on Chat, you promised years ago, no more talking like that." He smiled at her and shrugged saying,

"I know, I'm joking. I totally saved your butt back there."

"Yeah you did, thanks." she laughed again, and his heart felt increasingly fluttery inside. Her earrings beeped then and his eyes widened when he saw that she only had a minute left.

"My Lady… you better get going."

She gulped and nodded a little, rocking on her heels and coughing before saying quietly,

"Yeah… um… I know. But… Chat?"

His heart thumped a little harder.

"Y-Yeah?" he asked, and he tightened his balled fist nervously.

"I wanted to… um… well…" her voice was tight, and her face was growing more and more pale. And Chat was even more aware that the minute was drawing to a close.

"Yes?" he breathed, and he knew that if his suit had fur it would be standing on end. The air around them was charged, and he felt like he couldn't breath. Too close. This was too close.

"I… Never mind, you're an amazing partner, and I trust you a lot. I hope you know that Chat. You really mean alot to me." Ladybug's words rushed out, and the tension dropped instantly, leaving him a little off kilter as she gave him a quick hug and then zipped away on her yoyo faster than he'd ever seen.

"THANK YOU!" he tried to splutter back to her as she zipped away, and he saw her glance back for half a second before ducking into an alleyway that gave off a burst of light seconds after.

Right there. She was right there.

 _Maybe Marinette is right there._

Adrien swallowed hard, shaking his head in frustration as he slammed his staff into the rooftop, propelling himself away. Far far away from that idea. He stopped on top of a sloped roof and let himself slide down it, duly banging his head back against it as he closed his eyes tight.

She'd almost told him. But then she'd gotten too scared.

That was the closest she'd ever been to wanting to tell him, he was still shaking head to toe from it. But then she'd pulled it away at the very last second, and now he felt sick to his stomach. He knew he shouldn't be upset but he was. He was devastated.

Adrien covered his eyes with an arm, gulping as tears began to fall from his eyes once again. Tears. He was sick of crying. He'd cried too much this week, couldn't he just pull himself together?! What made this time any different from the others? She may trust him and care about him, which was honestly amazing all on it's own, but she obviously didn't feel comfortable sharing her identity. She trusted him, but she was scared. She'd always been that way, and he'd respected that.

But now as he shook with shaking gasps, he felt incredibly frustrated. This had been too close, it had been too personal, and it had been ripped away from him all too fast. All he wanted to do now was go back home to Marinette. He wanted her to brush his hair with her fingers again while he sat and listened to her talk about her designs. He wanted to hug her while she scolded him for not washing some of his old dishes. He wanted to just talk to her, not about Ladybug, just about anything else.

She had the ability to draw out his pent up frustration with her words, or a simple touch on his arm, calming him down and letting him relax. It was addicting to say the least, and he needed it right now.

Adrien sat up, taking a deep breath and then letting it out, before grabbing his staff and sending himself over rooftops towards the apartment. He wondered if Ladybug was worked up over this as he was, though he rather doubted it. He was being a little dramatic about this, even if the pain felt completely real to him.

—

Marinette was curled up on the couch with her head in her knees, cursing herself. She'd gotten too scared. Everything felt so rushed, and her stupid anxiety over her identities had decided to kick in and go hyperdrive. She moaned a little and punched her pillow in frustration. She was worried about Chat Noir. She was worried that she'd hurt him. They'd been much too close. Tikki thankfully had realized that Marinette wanted to be alone, so she'd floated off to her cupboard to snack on some cookies.

Marinette heard the familiar sound of a transformation outside her door then and she sat up, watching the door open as Chat Noir came back inside. She stood up and ran over to him, pulling him into a hug before he could see her face that was still trying to banish the saddened expression she had. He hugged her back tightly, burying his nose against her hair and pulling her up till her toes were dangling in the air and she forced out a laugh. He took a few steps forward, still lifting her up and holding her close.

"I'm glad you're safe Chat Noir." she said softly, reaching up to comb through his hair with her fingers, and he made a small noise before putting her down. She tried not to stare, but the devastated expression on his face was hard to miss and she swallowed a little, feeling sick.

 _My fault._

"What do you want for lunch Chat?" she asked him, wrapping her arms around him again to give him a hug that she hoped made him feel better. She wanted to hug him till she helped the hurt she'd caused. It was so unfair to him.

"Oh… is it that late?" he mumbled quietly, and she shrugged.

"It's only ten thirty, but if we started a-" she stopped, her eyes widening in alarm. "WAIT- IS IT THE 12TH?!"

He froze too, pulling away from her in surprise.

"OH MY GOSH IT'S THE 12TH." he said, face palming.

"WHY- WHAT DO YOU HAVE GOING ON?!" Marinette cried, beginning to panic as she looked around the apartment. What if Adrien knocked on her door right now?!

"N-NOTHING- WHAT ABOUT YOU-"

"WELL ADRIEN IS COMING OVER-"

"OH MAN- OKAY- UH- I'LL LEAVE THEN. I'LL JUST GO FOR A WALK OR SOMETHING- OPEN THE BALCONY WHEN YOU WANT ME TO COME BACK OR SOMETHING."

"OKAY- OKAY- HURRY IT'S ALREADY LATE HE COULD BE HERE ANY SECOND-"

"I THINK IT'LL BE FINE, BUT I'LL LEAVE." he said, scrambling out to the balcony and trying to leave as discreetly as possible. There was just an akuma attack, it wouldn't be that weird to see Chat Noir running over rooftops would it?

"I'M SORRY ABOUT LUNCH!" she yelled to him, and she watched him wave back at her before disappearing.

Then she sat back down, her hands twisting in her lap in worry. Everything was happening too close today. Slowly her nerves calmed down though as Adrien took longer than she'd expected he would. Then she got a text from him saying he was almost there and she sighed, glad he was late but still coming. He _had_ been dealing with Nathalie after the akuma attack, that was probably why he was late.

Soon there was a knock on the door and she opened it to reveal a gasping Adrien holding a bag from her parent's bakery.

"Hi Marinette!" he gasped, holding it out to her and she took it, wide eyed. "I'm- I'm sorry I'm late. There was an akuma attack, and- it was Nathalie- and I kinda got mixed up in it… But I bought some pastries to make up for it!" She smiled and closed the door behind him saying,

"You didn't need to do that! I understand! I'm glad everything is better now, how is Nathalie?"

"She's… she's better I guess. Just stressed out." Adrien said, shrugging his shoulders.

Marinette pulled out one of the chocolate croissants inside, ignoring a nosy note from her mother asking how she and Adrien were doing, and then she went and sat on the couch with him saying,

"That's good! And did you see Ladybug then?"

"I did actually." he turned a little red and she had to keep herself from smirking triumphantly. "I actually stopped the fight kind of…" he mumbled, and Marinette raised her eyebrows in what she hoped looked like surprise.

"That's so cool! You got to be a superhero for a little bit I guess." she smiled at him, and he smiled back at her, his face a little strange then.

"Yep.."

—

Adrien was only subconsciously aware that he'd grown closer and closer to Marinette during the video chat, and when he did realize it he didn't know what to do. Alya and Nino were talkative today, so Marinette seemed too distracted to notice, but Adrien sure did. They were huddled next to each other with their knees pulled up, to their chins while they balanced the laptop between them. He was just glad she was letting him get this close to her as Adrien. He hadn't wanted to leave earlier as Chat, the strange impromptu hug they had shared had made him feel even more cuddly than usual. But as Adrien it was hard to pull her into a hug and bury his face in her neck and take a nap. The thought of that just embarrassed him. But as Chat he felt so much more comfortable around her. More than anyone he'd ever been around.

Even the few minutes that she'd been able to be with him after the incident with Ladybug had made him a little dizzy in the head. He couldn't get enough of how warm he felt inside when she wrapped her arms around his head and pressed his eyes into her shoulder. Everything seemed to quiet down in his head, and he was allowed some time to breathe and think clearly for once.

Adrien's chin slipped down a little bit, pressing against her arm that was helping hold up the laptop, and he closed his eyes for a moment, breathing in all the smells around him. The pastries they'd bought, the smell of her flowers blooming in pots in the corner, her strawberry shampoo that he may or may not have borrowed once because it smelled so nice…

"Adrien, don't fall asleep on us man, it's only lunch time." Nino's voice made his eyes snap open and he pulled back, blinking in surprise.

"S-Sorry. I uh… I guess the akuma attack wore me out earlier." Adrien said, pretending to yawn and rub his eyes. He wasn't sleepy at all, he was just intoxicated by the smells and warmth all around him.

"Mhmm. Marinette if he falls asleep again you should draw on his model face with a permanent marker and ruin all his photoshoots." Alya teased, and Adrien frowned at her saying,

"I'll have you know that my face is insured."

"I can't tell if you're joking or not." Alya responded.

"I don't think he's joking." Nino said, and Marinette burst out laughing, her whole body shaking beside him and he turned his head to look at her as she genuinely laughed and giggled, face palming a little bit as her cheeks turned red and her eyes closed tight. Adrien blinked, looking at her until he felt a small smile bend the corners of his lips.

She kept on laughing, and he kept staring until his phone went off in his pocket and he tore his eyes away, pulling it out and reading the text.

It was from Nino.

Dude… You're in love.

Adrien blinked at it, reading each word carefully until the screen went black from inactivity. Then he looked up at the laptop to see both Alya and Nino staring at him while Marinette's laughter died down, still too distracted by the joke to see what was going on.

He looked back at them, feeling his stomach do somersaults before he very slowly nodded his head back at them.


	6. Chapter 6

"Marineeeette…." she twitched as her name landed on her ears. "Marinette wake up! You fell asleep on the couch again…" She yawned, stretching and almost hitting Chat in the face with her fist. Then she rubbed her eyes and looked up to see him standing there with folded arms, lips pursed tightly. Her sketchbook was shoved between her and the inside of the couch, and the corner of a couple of papers was dogeared now. She had pencil smudges all over her face, and the design she'd been working on featured an oversized top hat.

"Marinette how late were you up last night?" he asked, and she shrugged.

"I don't know, but it feels like three or four in the morning?"

"Oh my- Okay, we need another rule." Chat said, shaking his head as she continued to yawn. He picked up her sketchbook and scattered pens and pencils saying cooly, "No designing past midnight."

"Chat! I have deadlines to keep! I'm an adult! I can stay up however late I want…" she yawned, reaching for her book, which he held away from her.

"No Marinette. Look at this." he opened to the last page with the top hat drawing that she'd sloppily scribbled over with pink highlighter, and purple penned notes on the side that made no sense and ended with the word 'Sleep.' "You'll destroy more designs than create if you keep this up." Chat warned her, shaking his head as he handed it back.

"Hmm… Fine…" she muttered, frowning. "How late is it?"

"It's ten thirty. I let you sleep in." Chat said, sitting beside her. Marinette mumbled again, burying her head into his shoulder and he began petting her head and smoothing her hair as he scolded her on sleeping habits.

She mumbled yes to him and then defended herself by saying,

"I don't have anything today though, I'm free. It was okay to stay up…"

"Really? I thought you had interning at one."

Marinette shook her head and smiled saying,

"Nope! Nathalie is on vacation for a week, and Mr. Agreste had to be somewhere else so us interns got a day off too!"

His eyes lit up.

"Hey! Do you… well… since you're free… would you like to… go out?" his eyes could not stay in one place as he grasped for words.

"…Go outside?"

"Yeah… for lunch."

She blinked at him for a moment, and there was an awkward silence as they both obviously began thinking the same thing. _Go out like a date._

"Okay." she smiled, and he looked excited. "But you're going to have to explain how Chat Noir is going to be walking around the town with me."

"I could just go as myself."

"Chat."

"And wear sunglasses."

"No."

He pouted at her, but he was smiling as he reached over to the table and picked up a stray pair of sunglasses. He put them on and looked back at her saying,

"I could wear sunglasses though. And a hoodie and jeans over my suit?

"I guess it's worth a shot. If anyone catches you, just say you're going undercover and I had a tip for you to follow." she sighed, shrugging her shoulders.

"Great!" he went back to his bedroom, and Marinette smiled, picking up her sketchbook and pens and going to her own room.

As soon as she had closed the door, Tikki came out, smiling and laughing in her little voice,

"Oooh, so you're finally going on a date with Chat Noir, huh?"

"Oh be quiet." Marinette rolled her eyes, going over to her closet and looking through her clothes. "We're both cooped up in the apartment constantly, him more than I. You have to let the cat out for a little bit." Marinette pulled out baby blue dress from the closet and began changing into it, continuing her reasoning with the little Kwami. "Besides, I still feel kind of bad about what happened at the last fight… I know he was disappointed. If spending a day out with him will cheer him up, then I'm not going to shoot him down."

She slung on her purse and Tikki smiled, a teasing look still in her eye before she settled down inside it. Then Marinette went into the bathroom and got ready for the day, beginning to curl her hair before Chat finally came in. She glanced over to see his white sweater and jeans before looking back in the mirror to undo the curling iron from her hair and she said,

"You took longer to get ready than I did! I thought it was only girls who did that." Chat folded his arms, shaking his blond head as he said,

"Believe it or not, I was raised to depend upon my appearance. It's not a habit I can just drop."

"No, no, it's fine, I think you look handsome." she laughed, and tried to ignore the fact that he blushed when she said it. After a few more minutes of her curling her hair and then brushing it out into black waves around her face, pulled back with a white hair pin, Marinette grinned at him and then pushed him out of the door.

"Remember to keep your hood up." she said, going on her tippy toes to pull the hood over his ears, and he laughed, bending to help her reach it.

Even when he put on his sunglasses, his mask reaching down his nose was very obvious and she bit her lip in worry.

"Don't worry Marinette, we can stay out of main public areas. How about we pack a lunch instead of buying something?" he suggested. Soon they were building baguette sandwiches out of what was in the fridge, and then wrapping them up and sticking them in his front jacket pocket along with his gloved hands.

"I still don't think this will work. Summer? In Paris? Our city doesn't even belong to us anymore." Marinette sighed, and he grinned.

"Let's dodge the tourists and make it a game then."

—

Adrien was imploding. He felt like his smile and his skin was going to split any second, and he'd fall apart right then and there. It had been three days. Three excruciating days of absolute chaos inside his head. The first night he'd barely slept at all, his mind playing the anthem of 'I can't believe I am in love with Marinette' over and over. And when he had slept, it had been restlessly, filled with dreams of Ladybug who sometimes would be mad at him and other times would be smiling at him as if she knew something he didn't and was having a grand time holding it over his head. It made him feel guilty, and he'd wake up muttering under his breath. He'd punched his pillow, making Plagg, who had been launched from his comfy bed into the air, yowl at him and Adrien had only half heartedly apologized.

The second night he'd finally come to terms with this new obsession and had argued and justified to himself all night, sometimes earning annoyed comments from his Kwami who reminded him that he was 'Talking to himself again like a crazy person.'

Adrien had finally just taken a deep breath, sighed, and realized that it was okay. It was okay to like Marinette. It was okay to be in love with her. It was okay to still like Ladybug, if he tried to banish those feelings it would be like losing a part of who he was. But accepting the fact that maybe it was okay to move on, and that Ladybug was still incredible and still his best friend no matter what… accepting that had been like a weight off of his shoulders. It stung a little, but thinking about Marinette helped a lot. Marinette was just as incredible as Ladybug. She was important and kind, and had done so much for him. And when he thought about the fact that she _liked_ him… or Adrien at least, he had to curl up a little bit and bite back a smile that would make his cheeks hurt. His heart had felt so warm the past couple of days, and the more he thought about how good _mutual_ affection felt, he only fell a little deeper into his feelings.

The third day and night, after his compromise with himself that may or may not have been filled with a few tears of frustration, Adrien felt like he'd jumped off a cliff. He was falling faster and faster and he was amazed that she hadn't noticed his sudden obsession with everything she did. He'd watch her stir her tea while she read a book, watch her tongue stick out from the corner of her mouth while she pinned a dress, and he just couldn't stop smiling while she hummed as she handed him wet dishes to dry.

And now it was the fourth day, and she'd said yes to a lunch date. She'd said yes to Chat. Adrien was walking on air.

He turned his head down as they passed a group of chattering tourists, and Marinette smiled. It was like a minefield out on the Parisian streets right now, but he'd made a bet with her that he could stay hidden in the crowd. She'd told him he'd last fifteen minutes.

"Ha. Jokes on you, it's been 14 minutes Mari." he laughed after he checked the time on a clock hanging outside of a shop as she walked beside him.

"OH MY GOSH- IT'S CHAT NOIR!"

Adrien tried to bite back a curse as he grabbed her hand and ran with her laughing her head off into an alleyway, a crowd of curious tourists and local parisians trying to cross the street between cars so they could follow them.

"You owe me five Euro's kitty- WOAH!" Marinette yelled in surprise as he scooped her up into his arms and scaled the building next to them, pulling her onto the roof. Below them their little mob had entered the alleyway, looking around for the super hero.

"Aww man! We missed him…"

"Did you see that girl who was with him? I didn't see her really well… she looked kinda pretty though."

"Maybe it was his girlfriend. Do you think it could have been Ladybug?…"

Adrien could not pass up that. He glanced over to Marinette smugly and smirked at her frown.

"As I was saying, you owe me five Euros." she only said quietly, and he rolled his eyes.

"Fine." he dug into his jeans pocket and pulled out the money, slapping it into her palm. Then he stood up and helped her to his feet, motioning towards the long rooftop before him.

"Should we go for a walk before we find somewhere up here to eat?"

"Sounds like fun."

Walking on the rooftops with her was a little more nerve racking than he had planned. Marinette was not afraid of heights, and sometimes her comfort level was too much for him to stand, watching her walk so incredibly close to the edge. It was often that he'd nervously reach out to grab her arm, and she finally just laughed and grabbed onto his hand.

"Do you feel better now?" she asked, pulling up their hands to show him that she had a lifeline now. He blushed in embarrassment and gave a tiny nod, having to look away. But he bit back a smile when he glanced back and saw that she was doing the same.

He helped her hop over smokestacks, and safely slide down the slopes, until they reached a flattish part that they were both happy with sitting on. From there they could see Notre Dame in the distance, and the smells and sounds of bakeries and cafes were floating up to where they sat.

"Here you go, Princess." he said with a dramatic flourish, pulling out the baguette sandwiches and handing one to her.

"Thank you." she laughed, shaking her head

Then they sat and ate together, leaning back against the roof and talking about random things. Adrien bit into his sandwich and watched her wiggle feet that were sticking out from her powder blue dress, and he had to eat more to keep himself from telling her how adorable it was. He didn't want her to stop doing it.

"I've got to pick up groceries today, is there anything in particular you need?" she asked him in between bites, and he thought for a moment.

"Yes, but it's a surprise. How about I pick up the groceries instead?"

"Alright…" she gave him a curious look, and he grinned. There was no way he was spilling his secrets yet. He'd seen it the other day in the store but at that moment had not taken his wallet with him. Now he had the chance to buy it.

Marinette finished her sandwich and then closed her eyes, smiling as she relaxed beside him. Adrien leaned over so his shoulder bumped hers, and she dropped her head down onto it in response.

"If you get any happier I think you might start purring." Marinette said quietly, and he could only laugh a little, smiling too much to do anything else.

"Thank you for… eating lunch with me out on a rooftop."

"You're welcome. I think we could both use a breather from the apartment. It was nice."

"Yeah it was."

—

Marinette was trying to put away groceries as Chat called her name to get her attention.

"Marinette. Marinette look. Just look! Marinette!"

"Hang on a second, I'm trying to make all this stuff fit!" she said, rolling her eyes as jigsaw puzzled her way through the food into the fridge. Whatever Chat did as a day job for his father's company, he sure did make more money than she did currently. Because whenever she sent him out for groceries he always came back with more, and better than she would have gotten. She wondered if he was having a hard time adjusting to a less posh lifestyle…

Marinette finally closed the little fridge successfully and turned sighing,

"Okay, what is it-" she stopped and stared. "No."

"BUT WE CAN MATCH NOW!" Chat cried, holding up the adult sized black cat footie pajamas and holding them next to him, trying to compare. "It has a hood with ears on it! AND A TAIL! HOW CAN YOU SAY NO TO THIS TAIL?!" he continued to show it off enthusiastically and she covered her face with her hands.

"I am not going to wear that. Because then you would win." she said grumpily, folding her arms.

"Win what?!"

"The… getting me to… wear Chat Noir merchandise.. competition… thing." Chat made a face at her and then rubbed it against her cheek saying,

"But it's so soooooft! And you would look so cuuuuute! And we would maaaatch!"

"GOODNIGHT." she said anyways, pulling it from his hands and heading towards her bedroom with a wave of her hand.

"I bet you're going to wear it when I'm not looking!" he said incredulously after she'd shut the door and she leaned against it, feeling the fabric between her fingers.

"Nope!"

Marinette immediately changed into it, grateful she'd already brushed her teeth, and zipping it up under her chin, flipping up the hood.

 _"I can hear the zipper."_

"Don't be creepy Chat Noir! Go to bed!" she called as she admired herself in the mirror, and he mumbled in annoyance, his footsteps treading away down the hallway.

Marinette stuck her tongue out at Tikki who was laughing at her quietly across the room. Of course she would tease him with this. If she'd stopped wearing her favorite Chat Noir sweater with the little pawprints all over it just because he'd never let her hear the end of it, then she'd be sure not to let him see her in this thing yet.

She did look cute.

Marinette curled up, smiling into the pillow as she thought about her day. It had been very nice. And Chat buying her a ridiculous pair of pajamas had made it even better.

—

Marinette ran inside the apartment, her hair a mess, and announced loudly,

"HI, I KNOW I'M BACK EARLY- BUT I FORGOT MY DRAWINGS FROM LAST NIGHT-" she stopped suddenly however when she collided with someone as she'd just turned into the hallway to go to her room. Her nose had just rammed into the back shoulders of a frozen in place Chat Noir who was not currently Chat Noir but his own regular self, and he was facing away from her, just having left the bathroom and heading towards his own room, his hand clutching the door frame. His skin was wet, hair dripping, and a towel thankfully wrapped around him.

Marinette just about fell backwards, she was so stunned.

"I AM SO SORRY. I JUST. I- OKAY. I JUST NEED TO GRAB MY STUFF!" she cried loudly, and his shoulders hunched up as he covered his face with his hands

"IT- IT'S FINE-" he stuttered back, retreating into the bathroom and Marinette wanted to slap herself for how ridiculously long it took her to stop staring at him. Even if it had only been seconds it was still longer than she should have spent.

The contrast between his skin and his usual black suit was a little jarring to her. Also he could be a swimsuit model. He could just be a model in general actually.

Marinette wanted to go lock herself in her room she was so embarrassed with herself.

"SORRY!" she bolted for her bedroom, grabbing her drawings as quick as she could.

When Marinette raised her head from under her bed, grabbing a stray drawing that had fallen beneath it, there was a smug little black Kwami sitting on her bedspread waiting for her.

"Oooh your face is as red as Tikki. That's nothing compared to him though, I don't think he's breathing properly right now. You should tell him your Ladybug too, I want to see how purple in the face he'll become. Ten Euros says he'll start crying."

"PLAGG, GET OUT OF MY ROOM!"

—-

Once Adrien had sufficiently collected himself from today's _mishap_ , he'd tidied himself up and headed to the photo shoot location. He couldn't believe he had to face Marinette again after _THAT_. He'd been so excited to see her as Adrien again for the shoot, but now he dreaded every step. Her entire face had slammed into his back when she'd rounded that corner. Plagg was teasing him with whether or not there was lipstick on his back, and the last thing he needed was someone seeing lipstick stains on any part of him.

Plagg was still snickering away in his bag, and Adrien tried to ignore him as he crossed the street on the way to the Louvre. The photoshoot was already underway, but he hadn't needed to show up till nearly 1:00. He was nervous, as he always was everyday he came to a photo shoot. He never talked about the fact that he'd left home, he was still hiding that from Marinette. But he was worried that everyone there knew he had left. He hadn't even spoken to Nathalie about it yet. Adrien smiled a little when he saw the woman herself, speaking to the cameramen before catching a glimpse of Adrien and turning around with a smile.

He hadn't seen her smile like that in years.

"Hello Adrien, how are you today?" she asked him, and he grinned back at her.

"I'm fine thank you. How was your vacation?"

"Overdue and very nice." she sighed a little, crossing off a few things from her check list. Then she dropped her voice quieter and said, "I'm afraid it left your father a little frazzled though. I'm surprised he didn't call me back thirty minutes after I'd left."

"Well maybe now he can understand what you go through every day." Adrien said with a nod of his head, not trying hard enough to hide his slightly salty tone of voice.

"He tried to apologize Adrien, you have to forgive him a little bit." Nathalie sighed, and shrugged.

"Yeah. By the way Nathalie… how many people… know… about…" he looked around him and then back to her.

"No one. Your father doesn't want to talk about it, and neither do you apparently. I believe it is assumed by everyone that you still live at home…. Adrien are you doing alright?" she looked at him over her glasses with real concern then. He only smiled.

"I'm doing fine Nathalie. You really don't need to worry about me. Do I look like I'm starving?" he laughed, holding out his arms and she narrowed his eyes, still smiling slightly.

"No. In fact you look like you've put on weight."

"What?!"

"It's a good weight, don't worry. I never agreed with your dietician on how much you should eat anyways."

He grinned. It felt so different to talk to Nathalie like she was a friend, rather than his guardian. It was strange, but it also felt really nice. She seemed to be enjoying it too.

"Hi Adrien!" Marinette's voice made him jump a little when he remembered all at once how embarrassed he still was, and he turned around quickly to see her.

"H-Hey Marinette!" he stuttered, trying not to trip over his own feet as he turned.

He hadn't really taken his time to look at her before she'd left, and she looked especially bright today in a poppy red dress - _the same color as her lipstick that was definitely smudged a little at the very top_ \- and a loose bun. He was staring at her freckles for too long though, because she cocked her head a little asking,

"What's wrong?"

"N-Nothing! That's a fun dress." he looked down immediately to tear his eyes from hers, and she bounced a little, swishing her skirt.

"Thank you! I decided to wear it, even though I'm not modeling with you. But it kind of matches the clothes we're shooting today!"

"Really? I bet they're really colorful then!" he said, nodding as his phone buzzed. He had a few minutes to spare until the stylists dragged him away, so he opened it quickly. "It's Nino. He's wondering what we're up to. Say cheese!" Adrien held up his phone and leaned beside her to take the photo, simultaneously smacking his bag that had just let out a little squeak of,

"Cheese?!"

Marinette grinned as he took a snapshot and then pulled away, fiddling with the portfolio in her hands.

"Is my dad giving you a critique today or something?" Adrien asked her as he glanced up for a second, sending the picture to Nino who had actually been pestering him with 'are you dating Marinette yet' questions for the past few days. He had captioned the photo with, _"No, still friends and still happy. Get a hold of yourself."_

"No… but I wanted to show him some designs I've been working on. It's… well no offense to him, I'm sure you already know, but he's a little intimidating. But I'm really proud of these, and I wanted to hear feedback." Marinette said shyly, opening the portfolio to show him the drawings. Adrien's eyebrows raised at the collection she had drawn out. She hadn't even shown Chat these, they must have been something special.

"Well… from what little I know of fashion, you know I just wear what they tell me to put on," he spoke, putting a hand on her shoulder carefully. "I think that looks really nice. I hope he can give you some good feedback and maybe some compliments too."

"Thanks Adrien." she said softly, closing it again and smiling down at the ground. His phone buzzed again.

 _"Dude, you two are literally relationship goals, and I've been dating for like three years now. Please do something about this."_

Adrien shut off his phone, sighing quietly. He'd kind of painted himself into a corner with the whole Chat thing though. He knew she liked Adrien, but how could he stay there as Chat and date her at the same time. It wasn't going to work out as easily as Nino thought it would.

Adrien told Marinette good luck as he got pulled away by stylists finally, and she waved goodbye. It wasn't until right before they pulled him into the temporary changing room that he saw his father a ways off, watching him from where he sat beneath the shade of a building with Gorilla a few feet away from him at attention.

That was weird. His father rarely came to the actual shoots, it made his stomach twist nervously a little bit. But that was probably why Marinette had come home to grab those drawings earlier, because his father had suddenly been there.

Adrien hoped Marinette was still on good terms with his father, because those designs seemed incredibly important to her.

Marinette wiped at her lipstick carefully to fix the smudge that one of the stylists had pointed out to her, absolutely burning as she remembered why it was there, and then she smoothed her dress, trying to calm herself down. She hadn't been asked to talk to Mr. Agreste, this was her own choice. This could definitely backfire. But Tikki had given her such a good pep talk earlier, that she was ready to jump off the deep end and try it.

Marinette raised her chin and held on confidently to her portfolio, forcing her legs to walk forward as she neared Mr. Agreste, who seemed to be staring off in the other direction distractedly. When she got closer though his face turned and he glanced at her for a moment, taking in her outfit as well probably, and leaned back a little in his chair.

"Good morning Miss Dupain-Cheng." he said quietly, and she only glanced at Gorilla for a second who had his eyes trained on her as well.

"Good morning Mr. Agreste…" she moved to extend the portfolio, knowing that the designer liked to get to the point quickly, but he cut her off first saying,

"I was watching you with Adrien earlier, how is he doing?"

Marinette was a little surprised and she pushed the portfolio back under her arm a little saying,

"Um- He's fine. He seems really happy today. He always seems pretty happy though."

She was also a little surprised by his question. She would think that as Adrien's father he wouldn't be asking her how his son was. But then again, he was often busy and away, so maybe they didn't see each other as much as she thought they did.

"Hmm." it seemed that Mr. Agreste didn't know quite how to respond to that, he looked off into the distance again, towards where the models were beginning their photo shoot. Then he turned back to her and she took a small breath, preparing to bring out her portfolio again, when Mr. Agreste again asked her first,

"Did you design that dress you're wearing Miss Dupain-Cheng? My wife would have liked it."

"Y-Yes, I did…" Marinette said, trailing off now. Her confidence wasn't gone… but she was so confused she no longer felt sure of herself. He seemed to want to make conversation somehow, but she'd never seen him act like this before so she was unsure of how to approach it. Marinette waited for a moment and was going to try again, _but he once again asked her another question._

"What do you think about Adrien, Marinette?"

This completely caught her off guard. Not only had she called her by her first name, but he was actually continuing to attempt a conversation with her about something other than what her internship detailed.

"Pardon?" she asked, panicking. Her mind was racing. Did he know she'd been creepily middleschool crushing on his son for the past five or so years? Was he going to dismiss her as an intern now?! Was he going to file a stalking charge?! But she'd gotten rid of all her Adrien posters years ago-

"Do you think Adrien is nice? I know you're close friends, would you call him a good person?" Mr. Agreste looked so strangely concerned, that it stopped her fear and she instead only became a little more confused.

"Of course… Adrien has always been one of the best people I know. He cares a lot about his friends, and he tries very hard to make them happy. He's never once acted spoiled or rude to someone just because they came from different circumstances. He is a very good person Mr. Agreste, anyone who was in our class would tell you the same thing." Marinette found the words came easily once she had started, and it was a very affirming nod that she finished her words with, and he looked at her in silence for a moment. Then he looked away again at the models, who she realized included Adrien, and he mumbled quietly, his words half strung together,

"I suppose, sometimes I worry that… I worry that I might have… well… maybe I was not…" He closed his eyes and sat up straighter, opening them again to look her in the eye, all uneasiness gone from him now as he said, holding out his hand,

"Is that something you wanted to show me Miss Dupain-Cheng? It shows a lot of courage to approach me with something you've made personally, I'd be happy to see it."

"Oh- Oh! Yes, thank you sir- this, I've been working, ah-" Marinette cursed her tongue as it stumbled over words, her preparation completely thrown off by his strange behavior, and she resorted to just handing him the portfolio saying, "I was making a collection and I would love any feedback you may have for me."

Mr. Agreste flipped open the portfolio and looked at the drawings, carefully examining each one as she stood there waiting, trying not to rock on her heels nervously. He looked up then and she could see the smallest of smiles betraying his expression. Her heart thumped excitedly.

"These are very nice Miss Dupain-Cheng. I can see definite style in your work, and I can tell you love your designs very much."

"Thank you sir." she said quietly, never having felt this proud before in her life.

"Are you ready for the critique now?" He said, raising his eyebrows and she gulped a little.

"Yes… That's why I brought them to you. Please tell me everything you can." she sighed, smiling helplessly. He nodded, and she swore his sigh was more of a laugh as he motioned for her to sit down on the chair beside him, propping up her portfolio with his hands.

—

Gabriel watched Marinette talk excitedly to Adrien, pointing towards her drawings as she told him how her critique had gone. He couldn't hear them from where he was though.

He watched Adrien smile and give her a hug.

He watched the young designer and their supportive friend laugh together and he sighed, looking down at his phone to see what time it was.

Seeing them together like that had only brought up memories from years ago, and he hoped Marinette had been right. He hoped Adrien was a good person. Because he wasn't so sure about himself anymore.

—

"Marinette, may I speak with you for a moment?" Mrs. Leroux said as the girl had just turned to open the door to the stairs with Adrien at her side. Marinette looked at Adrien, who nodded and said he'd just wait upstairs, and she closed the door, grateful that she'd already texted Chat that she was bringing home Adrien. Otherwise… well it would have been bad.

"What is it?" she asked brightly, walking up to the woman who was carefully cutting pieces of fabric with her shiny heavy scissors that gave a very satisfying snipping sound every time they closed.

"I wanted to talk to you… about your…" the woman sighed, and set down her scissors, and Marinette gulped. "About your roommate."

Marinette's eyes widened and she began stuttering immediately.

"I- ah- but- r-roommate?! Ahaha- uh- I-"

"Don't try covering him up, I know who's staying there, I see him constantly around the shop, trying to sneak in and out- just tell him he can walk in! I can't believe there's a celebrity that big sleeping in the apartment next to me, but regardless-"

Marinette was panicking, but she tried to stay calm as she placed her hands on the table saying seriously,

"I'm sorry Mrs. Leroux! I really am! But… he ran away from home, and… I told him he could stay with me! Because he's done so much for me, you know, and he's like my best friend! We became really close over the past couple of years, even though I'm just a regular girl, I know, but he's really important to me! And he just needs a safe place to stay and I had that extra room, I'm the only friend he has and we've tried so hard to keep it a secret! Please, I'm begging you, please let him stay and PLEASE keep this a secret-"

"Marinette! It's fine!" Mrs. Leroux interrupted her, putting her hands on the nearly hyperventilating girl. Marinette pursed her lips, biting back tears and the woman continued gently saying, "It's alright with me, it really is. Just tell him he doesn't have to sneak around all the time! The only complaint I have is when you two are playing together or whatever it is you do up there… I swear you two will just tackle each other for fun sometimes…"

"I'm sorry…" Marinette was pink in the face.

"It's okay. Even that is only once in awhile, I'm really alright with you having him over. I

just needed to talk to you about it because I don't want you to keep secrets from me, although your explanation does clear the air as to why you would have done it… Goodness knows it would be all over the news if they found out he lived here. I already turn away enough people looking for him because they saw him walk in."

Marinette was a little confused at this. Chat only walked into the shop as his regular self, at least, that's what he'd said he did…. She'd have to scold him about that later. But for now she was just so relieved that Mrs. Leroux was on their side that she just kept saying thank you over and over again.

Then she said goodnight and went back upstairs to go beat Adrien in video games again. Hopefully when Chat came home later that night he wouldn't be too frightened by the fact that the landlady knew he was staying there.

—

Adrien had it down to a science. Whenever he would visit as Adrien he would leave the shop and make sure Marinette's landlady would see him leave. Then he'd wait for her to go into the back room before slipping in again and quickly moving into the staircase hallway so he could go back up to the apartment as Chat. Either that or transform in the alleyway nearby and go in through her balcony. After all, he not only had to worry about the Landlady, but Marinette as well.

The landlady didn't suspect anything.

Adrien closed the door behind him, walking across the fabric shop and being sure to say goodbye to the woman cutting fabric steadily. But instead of saying it back she set down the scissors saying,

"You know Adrien, you don't have to sneak out and back in every time. You can just stay up there." He froze.

The landlady knew.

"Uh- Ah- I- W-Well-" he spluttered, panicking and not knowing where to start.

"I already talked to Marinette about it, she didn't make much sense but she did get the point across that you need to be a secret. I'm willing to keep it, just continue being respectful like you already are." she sighed, and he was even more alarmed.

"I can't believe Adrien Agreste ran away from home and is now staying at his girlfriend's apartment… I can't believe that's MY apartment… Well go on back upstairs, you're fine." the lady waved her hand, and he blinked.

 _Oh. So she doesn't know about Chat. She thinks that Adrien Agreste is the one staying over…. And… Marinette must think… she knows Chat stays here…. Oh boy._

"W-Well thank you!" he said nervously, backing up to the door and slipping inside again, his heart rate dropping to a regular speed.

"You're welcome. I hope you find an even nicer apartment some day for the two of you." she added, winking at him and causing him to burn.

"Y…yeah… uh… okay…. Th-thanks…" He slowly backed into the hallway again, cheeks still red.

—

"You're wearing it! We match now!" Adrien had to stop himself from jumping up and down.

"Nngh." Marinette responded, lying face down on the couch, the fuzzy black tail hanging off of the side of the couch and the hood of the pajamas pulled over her brow so she did just look like a big black cat.

"It's soft, huh?" he said happily, reaching down to pat her head. Marinette rolled out of the way onto her back however, picking up a pillow and shielding her face with it.

"No." her voice was muffled and she sounded upset.

"Marinette, are you okay?" he asked, feeling a little nervous now.

"Nnnnngh." she moaned a little, curling up and folding her arms over her stomach. He sat down beside her, tapping his feet on the ground awkwardly. Then she pulled the pillow off her face and looked up at him, her hair messy, but only framing her face in a sweet kind of way. Her eyes practically attacked him they looked so blue surrounded by all the black.

"I'm sorry Chat. I… have…" she sighed in annoyance and covered her face again finishing, "Cramps."

Adrien's eyebrows lifted up high.

"Oh. I'm sorry."

Adrien wasn't clueless about this kind of thing, but he still wasn't the most educated either. When his mother was around she had never told him about that kind of stuff… all he knew was just from weird late night internet searches after hearing things he didn't completely understand. Nino had also tried to help him once, but that had been even more awkward. All Adrien knew was that she hurt and was probably grumpy. He should have expected this would happen some day. He'd spent more than a month with her already, he must have missed it the other time.

"What do you want me to do?"

"Not be offended if I start acting like a jerk."

He laughed a little, picking at the couch and saying,

"I'll try not to, Princess. Do you need anything?"

"Nothing." she sighed, turning on her side and pulling the pillow down so she could hug it to her tightly. Adrien reached down with his hand and brushed her hair carefully back from where it was falling into her face. He wasn't quite sure if this was a good or bad thing to do.

"Hmm." she sighed, and sat up a little, making him pull back nervously.

"Sorry… I won't touch you." he said, starting to get up from the couch, but her hand stopped him.

"No it's okay. Usually I just want people to leave me alone… but this is okay." she said, and Adrien's face burned beneath his mask as she looped her arms around his middle and pulled him into a hug, her head down on his lap. He touched her head again, biting his lip, and she smiled as she closed her eyes.

"I think there has been a dramatic increase of hugs since I first started coming to visit you." he said after a moment, and she opened her eyes, looking mildly surprised up at him. Then she frowned for a moment before it turned into a smile, and she said nothing, pulling herself closer around him.

Adrien smiled as well and tried his best to bite down cat nicknames for the rest of the evening as she practically purred right there in his lap.


	7. Chapter 7

I just figured out that Fanfiction has been screwing up my formatting and probably makes my story confusing. I'm sorry. -_-

* * *

Marinette woke up smelling croissants, and for one blurry moment she was a teenager again, late for school but with a bakery downstairs filled with a breakfast she could grab on the go. But then she heard the sounds of dishes being set down carefully and she opened her eyes, looking over her bed spread to see Chat Noir bending forward to put down a tray beside her. She smiled and gave a wide yawn.

"What are you doing?" she asked, sitting up a little before he carefully pushed her down again.

"The point of having breakfast in bed is to stay in bed." he told her, and she groaned, turning into her pillow with a grin.

"No... Chat that's so CHEESEY. Breakfast in bed?"

"I assure you, there is no cheese on this plate."

"Breakfast in bed is cheesey..."

"Well I woke up early and you were still asleep. So I got food. I told you last night I would do something for you."

She looked up from her pillow, biting at a smile, and she sat up again, pulling the tray towards her. Last night she'd gotten home very late, and was exhausted from the work day she'd had. Chat had been sweet enough to promise her a nice surprise the next day. She hadn't thought he meant morning though.

"You bought croissants from Mama and Papa..." she mumbled, smiling wider as she picked up one of the familiar pastries that was still warm from being baked that morning.

"Of course I did. Would you eat anything else?" he laughed, picking up one himself and chewing on it carefully.

"You have to be one of their regulars, you shop there too much you know." she said with a shake of her head and he puffed out his chest a little saying,

"I am in fact their 'favorite customer'."

She laughed before she took another bite, finding smooth chocolate under her teeth, and she closed her eyes happily.

"Did you get enough sleep?" Chat asked her as he fell back on her bed, laying over her feet as he popped a strawberry or two into his mouth.

"Yes, I feel much better today. And it's comforting to know the rest of today is free as well. Do you want to do something?" she asked him, taking a bite of a strawberry as well. (She also palmed a few extra ones for Tikki, slipping her hand under the covers so the hiding Kwami could have some breakfast.)

"No actually... I'd rather stay in and talk." he said as he stretched his arms out wide over her bed sheets.

"Okay. That sounds nice." she sighed, wiggling her feet a little so that his torso moved up and down and he lazily made a face at her.

How many times had they just stayed in to talk? How many times had they just sat on the couch and yawned back and forth, lounging in the sunshine? How many times had he blinked so slowly at her that she'd resisted the urge to call him out on kitten kissing.

"How long has it been, as of today Chat?" she asked him, and she didn't have to clarify. They talked about it often.

"Umm... two and a half months... I'm pretty sure. Are you sure you still want me around, Princess?" he asked, smiling up at her as he propped his head onto his arms.

"Of course I do." she laughed, reaching over to mess with his hair, combing it away from his face with her fingers. "It's just weird to think it's been that long. I feel like we've only just figured out how chores work around here."

He smiled and closed his eyes, pushing his head into her hand a little more. She continued to brush back his hair, watching his face carefully. She once again tried to imagine him with no mask on, tried to picture how the skin of his nose looked. It was easier when his eyes weren't open, they were very distracting.

As if on cue, the glowing green of his eyes spilled out of the black as he opened them slowly. Marinette was caught, looking back at him as she quietly pushed his hair through her fingers. And all at once her insides caught on fire and an overwhelming warmth spread up through her body as her heart sped up. She pulled back her hand and looked away, picking up her glass of juice that he'd poured for her and distracting herself by quickly drinking it down.

She needed to call Alya.

* * *

"Marinette, you've liked him since middle school. He was all you could talk about for YEARS. I know for a fact that you like him." Alya laughed up at Marinette through the screen, and the girl moaned, hanging her head.

"I know Alya- I KNOW! I do like him... but at the same time, maybe it's just nice being friends with him? Maybe I don't actually like him as much as I thought? Ugh, it feels wrong even saying that." Marinette said, pulling at her hair.

"Maybe you're just nervous Marinette, I mean, he is paying a lot more attention to you, this is a whole new experience! Maybe... you're finally getting to really know Adrien, instead of the person you couldn't even talk to before. Maybe you're finally getting used to the idea of what he's like underneath that and it's messing with your head because it's like a whole new person you're starting to like!" Alya said, shrugging, and Marinette sighed. She wished she could just flat out admit to Alya that: 'Look I'm not sure I like him as much as I think that I _really_ like Chat Noir.' But that was impossible, that was still a secret. What she really needed was some emotional support through this crazy brain wrestle she was having.

"Look Marinette... you shouldn't stress out over this. It's not like you have to start dating him. It sounds like you just need some time to get used to all of Adrien. I mean you don't hate him do you?"

"Of course not! I think he's amazing!" Marinette said quickly, shaking her head hard.

"Then you shouldn't feel bad about it! Just let things happen naturally. And don't worry about him either, I think he likes you too..." Alya said, winking a little bit, and Marinette turned red. She couldn't express the moan she was holding back though, and how that made her feel even more guilty and weird about the situation.

Yes... she'd noticed him getting closer to her. She'd _definitely_ noticed that.  
But now she wasn't even sure what to do with her split feelings, and it worried her that she'd hurt him. Thinking about that made her stomach sick.

"I don't know Alya... I guess I just feel like we're really good friends." she said quietly, fishing for some comforting words without telling her friend that there was another guy she was worrying about.

"Well... Marinette... that's how a couple should be. In the end you should be with your best friend. And if that's not Adrien, then that's okay." Alya shrugged, smiling at her friend with a careful expression.

This made Marinette's lips perk up into a smile though, and she felt her heart lifting a little bit. Her best friend. Without a doubt that title belonged to Chat Noir. He'd sacrificed for her left and right, and she trusted him more than anyone else, that ends up happening to you when you put your life into someone else's hands frequently.

"Thanks Alya. You're still my best friend-friend."

"I know girl, you too." Alya laughed.

"Thanks for talking, I hope you have a good rest of your day!"

"You're welcome! And yeah, Nino's got a party later to DJ and I've got some dancing to perfect!"

They laughed for a few moments more before Alya hung up and left Marinette alone on her plant filled balcony where she'd been hiding under the shadow of her roof and from the cat inside the apartment. She stayed outside for awhile, admiring the silence and smiling to herself. She still felt a little awful, like she was betraying her past self by choosing Chat over Adrien... And for all she knew, Chat wouldn't be up to it and she'd end up going back to Adrien.

But she did know for sure that either way, Alya was right. She was never going to choose anyone other than her best friend.

Marinette looked down at her phone again and after a moment of looking through her contacts, tapped onto Adrien's name. She waited for a moment until he picked it up and his cheery voice reached her from the other end.

"Hey Marinette! What's up?"

"Nothing much. I was just wondering if you wanted to come over later this week." she said quietly, tapping her chair with her free hand.

"Of course! I'll come over whenever you want me to! How about next Thursday?"

She bit her lip.

"Okay, that sounds great Adrien. Thanks!" she said softly, trying to sound cheerful as well. As soon as he'd hung up she sighed, pulling up her legs to press her forehead against her knees.

"This is hard." she mumbled to herself. Marinette stood up and opened the balcony window, coming inside again to see Chat Noir leaning against the kitchen counter and smiling. He looked over at her and grinned.

"How is the weather out there?"

"It's nice. Warm but cloudy." she said with a shrug and his smile fell a little bit.

"Hey, what's wrong? You look kind of sad." he said, walking over to her. She sighed and gave a shrug, sitting against the table and he did the same.

"Just Adrien." she said quietly, and Chat frowned even more.

"What about him?"

Marinette wrapped her arms around her stomach and continued,

"I think he likes me."

She could hear Chat gulp a little and then he laughed nervously,

"W-Well you like him... don't you?"

Marinette turned her head to look up at him and all she could do was stare at him for a moment, her mouth open and wanting to speak.

"I... I do. But... I don't know... maybe I..." she tried to find words to say, but they got stuck in her throat, and they continued to keep eye contact. Finally Chat broke to silence and he laughed out a cough, looking away as he said brightly,

"That's alright. You shouldn't beat yourself up over something like that. I know it feels a little weird to have your feelings change, but it's okay."

Marinette bit her lip at the smile that was coming through. That was just what she needed to hear. Part of her screamed internally, because the way Chat was smiling made her think that maybe he hadn't been completely clueless about what she'd been struggling to say. The other half of her just felt a little giddy.

And for the rest of the day when she caught the look on his face, he was smiling.

* * *

"She likes me, Plagg. She likes _Chat Noir_." Adrien whispered quietly for what was probably the hundredth time.

"I dare you to say that one more time Adrien, go on, try it. See where cheese gets mysteriously left for your nose to find later. _Try it._ " Plagg growled sleepily from his spot beside Adrien's head, and the blond smiled blissfully.

He tried to turn over onto his side to get comfortable, finally having sent himself to bed early thanks to the fact that he was really tired.

It may or may not have had something to do with the fact that he'd gotten up incredibly early on purpose to make Marinette breakfast. Now he was exhausted, and it was only nine. Usually they stayed up till eleven playing videogames together or talking. Plagg was tired too, having been emotionally at his wits end with Adrien's lovesick remarks all day long.

Adrien pulled his blankets up to his chin, trying to steady his breathing and he hummed quietly to himself.

He couldn't believe she liked him. All of him. It was overpowering, and his heart was swelling more than it ever had before. It made him a little nervous for when she finally let him reveal who he was, but at the same time, deliriously excited.

* * *

 _Not this dream again..._

Adrien was strangely self aware as he looked around the familiar area, right in front of the fountain with Dark Cupid Kim behind him.

He'd had this dream so many times that it had ingrained itself into his memory. It was also the most life like dream he ever had. Every cobblestone, every expression, and every raw burning feeling of hatred towards Ladybug. It felt so real.

"I've always wondered what would happen if I used Cataclysm on a person..." Adrien said, flexing his claws together as he looked at his energy covered fist. Ladybug glared at him behind a tree.

Adrien always wondered if this dream had really happened. He knew they'd fought Dark Cupid before, and Ladybug had vaguely explained that he'd been hit by one of the arrows.

She never went into it though, but these dreams made him wonder if these were his memories, buried deep in his subconscious.

But if they had happened, that also meant she'd kissed him. And that was always when he'd wake up.

Adrien charged at Ladybug, his claws out and snarl fixed onto his face, and she dodged him, scooping out from under his arm and running forward. They sparred for a few more minutes, jumping around until he caught her and they rolled, his claws hovering over her face as he hissed at her triumphantly,

"You can say goodbye to your secret identity!"

This was where he knew she would kiss him. She'd take his face into her hands and with a smile she'd bring him down to her. He knew every movement by memory, had every touch of her lips ingrained against his mentally. Then he'd wake up confused, but so very very happy. That's what happened every time.

Except for tonight.

She reached up to him, and he reached down to her. His palm collided with her collar and she gasped, hiccuping a little on the breath in her throat. And then the black spread. And it cracked. And he pulled away his palm, his breath ragged, and nothing was lifelike anymore, and everything was fuzzy. And he was crying, and he was cursing. And she was cracking and she was dying.

She said his name and shattered, turning grey and looking like a broken china doll, and he was left screaming.

Adrien shot out of bed, choking on breaths and covered in sweat, tears streaming down his cheeks. He tried to control his gasps but they were so ragged he felt light headed and he just felt so _dark_ inside. His heart felt torn and it was beating so fast he was genuinely worried it was going to burst. He couldn't even hear, the pounding in his ears was overpowering and tears made his vision blurry and dark. It took a few seconds for him to see glowing green eyes in front of him, darting back and forth and looking worried.

"Adrien! Adrien it's okay! Calm down- it'll be okay! Look at me, alright?!" Plagg's voice reached his ears but Adrien was so upset and confused that he batted in the air where one of Plagg's whiskers had touched him. His fingers met the black soft skin of his Kwami who yelped, flying through the air away from him and Adrien could barely comprehend what he'd just done.

"P-Plagg- I- I used- Plagg-" he gasped, really feeling dizzy now as he began hyperventilating.

"Adrien- calm down, just breath! Nothing happened, you're fine!"

"Plagg- cataclysm- I used it- I used it on Ladybug- and she-"

"No-no-no-no-no! Don't think about it, it's okay! Adrien, it's okay!" Plagg had finally reached him again, hovering above him nervously. "Adrien, I'm sorry! But it's going to be okay, alright?! All my miraculous holders have had cataclysm nightmares, it only happens once or twice, please, you're going to be alright!" The kwami pleaded with him, carefully extending a paw to touch the wet cheek of the shaking Adrien.

"No! Plagg what if that happened?! What if I did that some day! Plagg-"

"Adrien, it's okay! It's never happened before, and it never will, Ladybug's magic can fix it, you don't have to worry about it!"

"But her magic can't fix it if _she's_ the one who gets hit!" Adrien choked, hysterically now as he shook where he sat.

"Adrien, it's okay, it's not going to happen and _you'll be okay._ " Plagg said again, but Adrien only let out a pained moan, grabbing a pillow and roughly shoving his head under it, gripping it hard as he kneeled over on his bed.

And then the knocking on the door started.

* * *

Marinette had been drawing out some fashion designs on the couch when she'd heard the yell coming from Chat Noir's bedroom. At first she'd thought he'd maybe stubbed his toe on his bed or something, but after that she'd heard crying and arguing, all muffled but desperate. She'd waited for a second, still a little shocked, but then she'd quickly set her things to the side and jumped off from the couch, walking swiftly over to his bedroom. Then she'd began knocking.

She could hear him inside, sobbing, and she started to say loudly,

"Chat? Chat are you okay?! Chat-"

Then Plagg phased through the door, drooping more than she'd ever seen him droop.

"Plagg, what's wrong with him?" she asked, and the kwami sighed, floating past her into the living room. Marinette anxiously followed and then Tikki appeared, coming to sit atop Marinette's shoulder.

"He just had a cataclysm nightmare. It's awful. But it's also normal for my miraculous holders." Plagg sighed, and Marinette sat on the couch, pulling up her legs as she looked at him in worry. Tikki made a small noise of sadness and Marinette frowned.

"He'll be okay, he just needs to calm down. He'll probably feel a little better after he starts breathing normally." Plagg said glumly, holding onto his feet as he sat himself down on her knee.

"What's a cataclysm nightmare?" Marinette asked quietly, afraid she already knew the answer. Plagg lowered his eyes and said,

"He had a dream that he touched Ladybug with cataclysm. I tried to tell him it wouldn't happen, but they're always so disoriented when they wake up, nothing ever works. He just has to breathe it all out."

"He cataclysmed me? Oh... That... that's horrible." Marinette whispered quietly, hugging herself closely. She couldn't even begin to comprehend how sick he must be feeling.

"I know I've had dreams once or twice where my healing spell didn't work... but that doesn't seem nearly as bad as being the direct cause of destruction to someone."

Tikki rubbed her head against Marinette's cheek before saying softly,

"And you should never worry about it not working, Marinette. The healing spell will always work."

"And it will always fix a cataclysm as well. Even if it's Ladybug it hits, the healing spell should work right away. You two can't destroy one another, you balance perfectly. Your powers match equally and you'll never be in danger of one overpowering the other." Plagg added, sounding a little frustrated.

"Well knowing that will help him feel a little better." she said with a smile. Plagg nodded.

"Yeah, when he's open to listening. Until then he's just going to throw a fit."

"I'll help him too, you don't have to do it alone." Marinette said supportingly, and Plagg looked relieved.

"Thank you. All this tension makes my stomach hurt."

"Maybe some cheese could make it better?" Marinette asked with a smile and he instantly lit up, colliding with her cheek quickly as he hugged all that he could reach of her.

"YOU'RE AMAZING."

"I know, I know." she laughed, stroking his small black ears with her finger and enjoying the feeling of the small purr against her cheek.

"Of course cheese makes you better instantly." Tikki sighed, rolling her eyes and hanging onto Marinette's shirt as the girl stood up.

It was a few minutes of them sharing cookies and cheese until the sound of a creaking door met their ears.

"Plagg?"

Marinette's heart ached. His voice sounded raw, and she knew it was the voice of someone who had just poured out their feelings physically without pausing. She wanted to go with the Kwami, go hug him tightly. But after taking one step she remembered that he was not Chat Noir at the moment and she had to hold back as Plagg left without her.

"Hey kid... do you feel okay?"

"Not really..."

"Well you're not swatting at me, so I think you're doing a little bit better."

"I'm sorry..."

"It's okay."

Marinette heard the door click shut and she let out a low breath, her shoulder sagging. Tikki swallowed a mouthful of cookies and then said, swinging her feet over the counter,

"You know, Ladybug has to go through a lot, there is a lot of pressure involved. But sometimes I think Chat Noir has it rougher."

"Yeah? How is that? I thought we were even." Marinette asked, and Tikki cocked her head thoughtfully.

"You are. The difference is, I think, who you are as people. You were very nervous about becoming Ladybug. And your confidence has sometimes been a little weak because of your fears of being a Miraculous Holder. Chat Noir on the other hand, jumped at the chance. He may have doubt in himself sometimes, but he was never scared to put on the suit and do his job. Plagg told me how excited Chat Noir was when he first transformed, it was a freedom he'd always wanted. You saw it as more of a burden."

"Sorry..." Marinette mumbled guiltily, and Tikki laughed.

"It's okay, it's a big responsibility. I'm just saying, the job is rough on you two in different ways. For you it's confidence, and for him... he has to sacrifice a lot. He's put himself at risk so often, just so you could be safe. It's demeaning to call him a shield, but that's a big part of what he sees himself as. He knows that you are the one who can fix whatever happens, and so it's up to him to make sure you get to that end goal. And the fact that he cares about you only makes him even more protective. So all that along with the cataclysm nightmares... he goes through a lot physically, while you go through a lot mentally."

Marinette gulped, and the burning feeling inside her heart only grew larger.

"I'd take a hit for him any day." she said quietly, her voice a little choked. "It hurts... he's reckless."

"He balances you." Tikki only responded with a sad little smile and a shrug.

Marinette said nothing, and after a moment gave a small nod. She didn't exactly like it. She didn't want him to be in so much danger. She didn't want him to go through those awful nightmares.

But if that wasn't going to change, then she'd be sure to help him through it.

Marinette crossed the kitchen then, and entered the hallway, using the back of her knuckles to softly rap on his door. The soft talking she heard inside stopped, and she waited patiently.

She heard a few more words and then the faint sound of a transformation. A few seconds later, Chat Noir was opening the door a little to look at her.

"Chat..." she leaned against the door frame, looking up at him with concerned eyes.

"I don't... I don't want to be Chat Noir right now. But Plagg said I should talk to you." he said quietly, looking away from her face and down at the floor below them. Marinette reached out a hand and found his before he could pull away, and he breathed in sharply. Then she firmly took his other hand and held them up together, her fingers wrapped tightly around them.

"See that? Everything's okay. Nothing that happens can't be fixed with Ladybug's healing light. You're not going to hurt her, or anybody at all. Not even me." she said quietly, holding up his hands higher, bringing both of the clawed gloves to her lips and giving them a kiss.

When she looked up, he had tears in his eyes, and she dropped his hands, wrapping her arms around him instead.

"Marinette..." he couldn't get past her name before he covered his face with his hands, trying to stop himself from crying.

"It's okay." she shushed him, carefully running her hands over his back and holding him tightly.

"I hate crying." he managed to choke out, and she buried her face into his shoulder.

"Sometimes you have to though." she said softly, and he hiccuped into her hair as he hugged her tightly back. Then she pulled away and took his hand, pulling him into the living room and turning out the light so only a lamp was on.

"Come here." she mumbled, pulling him closer as she sat down on the couch and he immediately sat beside her, leaning against her as she pulled him up into a hug, almost cradeling him on her lap.

"I still feel dumb... crying so much. You've seen me cry more than anyone else has." he said quietly, and she curled around him more.

"It's not dumb... There's nothing dumb about running away from home... or having a nightmare like that. Nothing dumb at all." she reassured him, and surprised herself when their foreheads pressed against each other, her hand curling around to support his head. His skin felt sick. It was feverishly hot underneath, but cold on top from the sweat peppering his pores.

Their faces were so close, noses nearly resting side by side, and Marinette could feel her breath bouncing off of his. And when he opened his mouth to talk again she swore their lips brushed for just a moment.

"I'd... I'd feel safe telling you who I am, Marinette."

She gulped.

"You really trust me, don't you?" she only laughed a little back, not knowing how to respond without hurting him.

"As much as Ladybug." he said quietly, and for one shuddering moment she wondered if he knew. But then he continued quietly, "And I didn't think there would be anyone ever like that. Because I trust her with my life."

"...Thank you."

That was all Marinette could say back.

* * *

When Marinette woke the next morning they were a cuddled and tangled mess on the couch, and she could see the dried tear tracks down Chat's cheeks. If there wasn't such a somber feeling in her chest, she probably would have been highly embarrassed, but she didn't care one bit at the moment.

She instead shifted a little so her tired legs could have feeling return to them. Chat's face twitched and she waited till his eyes cracked open, knowing that if he wasn't wearing a mask his eyes would have been bloodshot beyond belief. As soon as recognition filled his eyes he closed them again and sighed, sounding frustrated.

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine. Do you feel better?"

After a moment of quiet he looked at her again with a smile and said,

"I do. Thank you for helping last night."

"Of course. I'm glad you had that nightmare while I was here to help... I can't imagine you trying to get through that with just Plagg to talk to." she mumbled and he nodded carefully.

They still hadn't fully untangled themselves yet.

Marinette remembered how close they'd been and she shivered the tiniest bit. If she'd been unsure about her feelings yesterday they were even stronger now. She closed her eyes for a moment, shamelessly enjoying how nice it felt to be next to his warmth, and curled a little closer for a moment.

Then someone's phone went off and their sleepiness dispersed in a second, jolting them both fully awake and quickly untangling themselves, red faced and searching around for their phones.

"I-Is it yours? I don't know the ring tone." Marinette stuttered, and Chat made a fluttery sound of affirment. He found it stuck in between the couch cushions and quickly answered it, getting up to walk away. Marinette heard the door to his bedroom close and she immediately stretched herself across the couch, face pressed into the cushions as she made a little whining sound. Tikki's mischievous laugh reached her ears as Marinette bounced her legs up and down on the cushion, refusing to look at her kwami.

"It's okay Marinette. I saw this coming years ago."

"Quiet..." she mumbled, and the kwami laughed even more.

* * *

This was the most awkward day they'd had. Marinette had thought she'd been free from her stuttering curse but it had returned to haunt her, if only for 24 hours. Chat seemed to be having the same problem though.

They danced around each other awkwardly in the kitchen, afraid to get even a few inches close, and if they sat on the couch it was apart and distracted. It was as if they'd had an overdose on physical contact the night before and now were trying to balance it with avoidance today.

They didn't talk about what had happened, and for once Chat had no flirty teasing remarks to make. It was a quiet day, filled with reading and drawing for Marinette and filling out some school applications for Chat. When he'd ask her a question about an application she would think for a moment, glance at him while she answered him, and then return immediately back to her own work so they wouldn't meet eyes for too long.

When they both ended up on the couch at one point, Marinette reading up on some fashion magazines and Chat some news about modern innovators, she had very carefully crossed her legs until one of her knees rested against him. Chat had pretended not to notice and continued to read, his face turning steadily pinker. (Not that Marinette had glanced over to see this happening of course...)

This had lasted for about five minutes before she turned one of the pages to see photos of Adrien modeling, and she and Chat simultaneously shifted back to themselves making quiet noises in the back of their throats.

If she was brave she would have suggested they go for another rooftop picnic, or pull out an old video game they hadn't tried in awhile, or even offered to teach him to braid hair. They always had fun on these free days, where they were both at home. Why was this so unbearably difficult now?

This day would never end.

* * *

Marinette froze in her place on the floor against the couch, sketchbook in her lap, when she heard the fridge open and the hushed sounds of a voice talking to a more annoyed one.

"Will you please be quiet Plagg, we don't want to wake up Marinette."

"I'm not loud, my hunger is just making me desperate."

"Well this is THE LAST time I'm getting you a night snack, okay?"

Marinette knew it wouldn't be long before Chat's kwami slipped up and said his name, so she quickly put down her sketchbook and swung around hissing,

"CHAT."

His shoulders tensed, facing the open fridge.

The fridge light was outlining him in the dark enough and she could see the white t-shirt and shorts he was wearing. Once again the fear of identity crept up her throat from her heart and she kept her hands ready to cover her eyes.

"Chat what did I say about the 'always in transformation' rule!" She hissed, and his face whipped around. She yelped and covered her eyes.

"I'm out." Plagg announced, and she heard him laugh all the way back to the bedroom, leaving the two of them alone.

"Well what happened to my, Marinette needs her sleep and can't stay up working on fashion, rule?! It's dark in here, you're going to hurt your eyes!" He growled, and she shook her head quickly. At least they were talking. This whole day had ended with about 3 short conversations and nothing else.

"This is important! The- the moon was inspiring me and I was just jotting down a few notes and- AND DON'T LOOK THIS WAY WITHOUT YOUR MASK ON!" She cried, and she heard the fridge door close.

"No, I'm not leaving until you go to bed. We barely slept and you need rest, Marinette." He said, really sounding upset at her and she heard him cross the room past her and to the window blinds. She heard them close and could sense the darkness completely fill the room.

"Not fair... you have night vision." She said quietly, and she felt him bend down towards her.

"Not when I'm like this. I can barely see your face... you can stop looking through your

fingers you know." He said softly and Marinette gulped, pulling down her hands nervously. He was right. It was pitch black, and she could only make out the vague shape of a face with a few fingers of moonlight reaching over his nose from the blinds.

"Now will you go to bed?" He asked quietly, and she didn't answer, just stared into the darkness. She felt like a pressurized soda, one random movement away from exploding. It had been building all day with every quick glance and accidental brush of a hand.

All the feelings of earlier were suddenly preying on her mind again and she couldn't think, she couldn't breathe, he was much too close to her right now...

Chat took her cheeks in his hands carefully, and she felt her insides jolt. His fingers felt

like they were shaking too.

"Please?" He breathed, millimeters from her face.

Marinette closed her eyes brought her face to a tilt, feeling his breath on her mouth.

Then he pushed forward.

They melted against each other, all the tension from the entire day, this entire month, all

of it escaped as their shoulders sagged and they finally made contact.

It was slow and steady, they pulled away and then went straight back for more. Chat's hand- his actual hand- stroked the side of her chin, dragging under it for a second. She pushed against him with her lips, all while pulling him closer, and he fell from a crouch onto his knees, leaning over her till her back was pressing up against the arm of the couch. His arms encircled her middle, locking her against him as she twisted his hair with her fingers and made him quiver a little.

* * *

He wanted to ask her. He wanted to ask her right now if he could show her who he was. He wanted her to know how obsessed he had become with her, and how incredibly important she'd become to him in the last few months. He'd spent nearly every waking moment with her, and now she was letting him kiss her, kissing him back, and he needed that full disclosure.

But he knew she'd be upset. He knew she'd give him the same talk she always did, the one that made her sound even more like Ladybug. It could wait. This was a big enough step.

And he never wanted it to end.

Adrien's heart pounded as he broke a kiss with her, pressing the side of his face against hers, as he tried to collect himself. Then he said, needing to say something,

"Marinette, I promised myself I wouldn't fall in love with you. But it happened anyways."

he felt her shake against him, and a tear hit his face as it ran down to where their cheeks met. He instantly turned his head to meet it, pressing his lips over the tears and lingering over her cheek.

"You know Kitty, I had the same problem." She breathed, and he only smiled. It hurt, to keep his identity from her. He hoped she wouldn't be upset that she'd fallen out of love with Adrien to fall in love with him again. To him it was a little thrilling.

"I know you want to tell me who you are..." She then added quietly, as if reading his mind, and he kept his head low against hers, his eyes closed.

"I know I say this a lot... But I promise... you can tell me soon. But not right now."

"I'm thinking the same thing." He said softly, and the he felt warmth bubble up inside of

him. They both wanted to know, wanted to know and fill the gap that was still there.

But for the moment it was just Chat and Marinette, and all that had ever been them.


	8. Chapter 8

It had only been two days and Marinette knew she was in trouble. She was in much too deep. Today she'd had to leave early for work and had come back to him in the middle of arranging a bouquet of flowers on the table. How in the world could someone be _that sweet?_ To be honest, Marinette was still in shock that he liked her that much. She'd gotten the feeling that he'd started to like her recently, she really hadn't been _that_ oblivious. But she was not prepared for _how much_ he liked her. The day after they'd kissed it was like opening the floodgates and he had absolutely gushed the entire next day. Everything she did made him hum happily beside her, and he'd taken every opportunity he could to give her a kiss on the cheek or her hand. At any other time before this she would have told him to cut it out, and probably locked him in his room out of annoyance. But now it was different. Now she was doing the same to him, watching him type on his laptop, or even just washing off his plate and drying it off as he whistled. And when he did give her kisses on her cheek she'd blush and smile, feeling her heart beat happily in her chest while elation completely replaced any annoyance she would have had otherwise.

It had only been _two days._ Marinette was not completely sure she hadn't dreamed it all. She wasn't even sure if she was dancing with him right now, the half arranged bouquet filling the air around them with the scent of fresh flowers, and her sore feet from work becoming numb from pain as she stepped lightly with him.

Chat twirled her around as music played on the radio and they waltzed slower and slower on the floor of the apartment. It was late, and the light from the lamps gave everything a soft golden glow. Marinette's forehead fell against his collarbone and he slowed down even more, swaying her softly as the cars outside honked faintly. The sounds seemed to mix together into a soft hum though, or maybe it was just his heartbeat under her ear.

Suddenly the light turned off and the music stopped, and everything became much darker than it had been. It barely disturbed them however, they only swayed some more as they glanced out to the street to see that the power was out for them and the next couple of blocks. The Eiffel Tower was still glittering in the distance though, and they both blinked slowly at it, their feet making soft thumps on the ground when they shifted their weight around.

"What time is it?" Marinette asked quietly, and she felt his chin lift up a little from her hair as he glanced up at the clock.

"Past your bedtime. You should get to sleep, you have interning at nine tomorrow."

"Oh I don't care..." she mumbled, her fingers pressing into his back as she breathed him in deeply, her forehead pressed against his chest. He laughed quietly, his face into her hair as he hugged her back. She really didn't care. Never in a million years had she dreamed that a moment like this with him would be the only thing she ever wanted to do. She refused to let it end. She would stay there swaying with him till she fell asleep in his arms.

"You should care... you have that critique tomorrow."

"Exactly why this is good for me. This is my kind of de-stressing." she breathed, raising up her face till it fit beside his bent one, and they swayed a little more.

"You help me de-stress too." he said quietly.

"Are you stressed kitty?"

"Mmm." he only hummed a little and she stroked his back softly, moving her face so that their noses were now bumping. Her hands moved and she scratched his scalp lightly, giving him a kiss. He shuddered a little bit, his shaky breath hitting her skin and making her smile.

Marinette gave him another kiss but this time it was slower.

Chat circled her with his arms around her back and they stopped swaying now.

"I think we're both a little stressed." he said as she broke away and she frowned a little bit. Then she bent her head to find the place under his jaw and kissed him again, leaving her head tucked underneath his chin.

"I vote for a total de-stress session. No stress allowed. None." she said quietly, and he laughed a little, moving his feet forward. She moved her feet too, but only on top of his boots, and she giggled as he awkwardly shuffled them both across the floor.

"I'll take you up on that offer." he sighed once he stopped them outside the hallway. It was even darker here thanks to the power outage. She held onto his neck and kissed him again.

And then he kissed her back. Marinette could have melted, and she did in fact, trembling a little and he had to support her back as her knees gave out for a moment.

"Jeeze Marinette, you really do need some sleep." he said after he'd caught her, shaking his head.

"N-No I don't! You just... never mind."

She wasn't even sure why she'd just lost control of her legs for a moment. She always felt so sure around him, but for a second she'd just completely forgotten what it meant to stand. Her fingers tried to hold onto the back of his neck but they felt numb, and strangely weak. It was like waking up from a nap and feeling like piece of wet paper, still trying to wake up and regain strength. Thankfully Chat continued to hold her and she let him hoist her up by her legs, kissing her politely still. She touched his hair again with her numb fingers, and he only tightened around her as she gave him a bear hug, her arms and legs wrapping around him. He continued to peck her with kisses as he walked forward, using his shoulder to open the door to her room.

"Okay, bed time." he said quietly, and she whined, feeling coming back into her fingers

as she curled tighter around him, refusing to let go.

"No. Not long enough. Go back to the living room."

"I don't want you to fall asleep when you're showing Mr. Agreste your designs-" he stopped as she took his face into her hands, kissing him.

"I'm stressed out." she then said apologetically, looking him in the eyes, which were about the only things she could see clearly in this light anyways. "Chat, I doubt I'll even sleep I'm so stressed out over this stupid thing. I've been working on them since he gave me that critique! It's been ready for two days now!" He blinked. Then he smirked.

He pressed his lips on her neck, moving up slowly and she breathed shakily, tightening her grip around him.

"Okay. Let me reassure you then, like I have been for the past two days." he said into her skin. "You're going to be fine. Because you _have_ been ready for two days. It's going to go well, just wait and see." He kissed her neck again and she gulped, closing her eyes tight.

"So there. I've reassured you. You're going to be fine, let's call it a day." he said, pulling his head back and she stared back into the glowing green of his eyes.

"But-"

Before she could say something witty back he was kissing her again. Their lips moved together like they were having conversation, back and forth and hard and soft. Then they slowly disconnected but his lips were still moving and her half lidded eyes closed completely as his teeth barely brushed her jaw under his kisses. She just held on tighter. His hair was so soft against her cheek and she tried to imagine what it looked like when he wasn't transformed, from what she remembered it looking like. It was a little lighter color of blond, and better groomed than the crazy state of Chat hair. Him being a little more well kept underneath Chat somehow made him seem more real, and more complete. This felt so real.

Marinette felt him sit down on her bed and she smoothed her hands against the suit over his arms, running her palms down his shoulders as she leaned into his kisses. Then he broke away carefully, smoothing her hair for a minute before carefully laying her back onto the bed. Her legs detached from around him and she pouted a little. He pulled the covers over her then, bent over her face as he knelt beside her.

"Do you feel better?" he asked, giving her a light kiss on her forehead. She smiled and nodded sleepily, her eyelids heavy.

"How about you, kitty?" she asked, her hand curling at his collar and brushing the heat of his skin with her fingertips as she did so.

"You always make me feel better." he breathed, and she laughed. He leaned in again and she had to push away lightly saying with a shake of her head,

"Hey, I can't go to sleep if you keep doing that, you're getting carried away. We're not that kind of roommate, remember."

He made a face at her. But then it melted into a soft smile and he cupped her cheek saying,

"Princess, I wouldn't dream of it. Or rather, I respect that decision and I will stand by it."

Marinette made a small noise of admiration, firmly taking his wrist into her hand as she mumbled,

"You are just... Really great."

"Really great?" he repeated flatly.

"I panicked, I didn't know what to say, I was thinking too hard." Marinette said quickly, and he only laughed more, filling the quiet darkness around them with his genuine sounds of his happiness. It was then that she realized it was hard to make him laugh. Hard to make him really laugh, where you could tell he was really caught off guard or overcome by how funny he thought something was. It didn't happen as often as she would have imagined it to. She felt as though she'd heard it only a few times, and she could now recall the first time it had happened, though she couldn't quite picture what he'd looked like when she'd heard it...

"Well I think you're really great too, Marinette. And you're going to do really great tomorrow as well. So sleep. Really great." he said with a grin, and he gave her knuckles a kiss before slipping away.

"Goodnight, Chat Noir."

"Goodnight."

* * *

"Chat, does my hair look okay?! Do you think the color on this hair bow is off enough that it doesn't match the dress?! Oh my gosh, if anyone would notice it would be him! He's going to think I have absolutely no taste-" Marinette had to stop when he grabbed her by the shoulders so she'd face him.

"Marinette. Sit down and eat your breakfast." he said cooly, and she puffed out her cheeks as she pouted.

"I can't eat on this stomach!"

"Yes you can, or else your stomach is going to make so much noise he won't be able to hear you over it."

She gulped, and even though he was teasing her, she seemed to take it very seriously.

"Croissant?" he then offered her, holding out his palm and showing her the pastry.

"...Okay." she sighed, taking it from him and beginning to eat it as she laid out all her things. "Lets see, note pad, portfolio, other portfolio, _the_ portfolio, that other portfolio, my phone, keys, mints..." She picked up her main portfolio, the one with all the designs that she was showing his father, and she went over to the kitchen table, motioning with her shoulder for him to join her.

"I already saw them all Marinette, they look great." he said, leaning over her as she sat on her chair and carefully flipped through the pages, chewing on her pastry.

"There was a surprise one I didn't show you though. Don't go getting a big head, mind you." she warned him, and he bent down closer. Her fingers flipped open to the next page and he sucked in a long breath.

"I want ten of them." he stated as soon as he'd looked at the entire page.

It was a collection of suits, black and green, very regular to anyone who did not happen to be Chat Noir.

"I'll make you one some day." she laughed, looking up at him as he bent closer over her shoulder to get a better look. "Not ten of them though." She turned her head and gave him a kiss on the cheek, making his lips turn up into a smile.

"Do you want to help me eat the rest of those strawberries?" he then asked as she stood up again to go wash her hands from the dangerous smears of chocolate left on her fingers.

"Sounds lovely." she said as she moved behind the counter to get to the sink. He hoisted himself up on the counter then, cutting the tops off of strawberries as he popped them into his mouth. When she was done washing her hands she turned around to see him holding out the biggest strawberry he could find. She grabbed it out of his fingers with her teeth, drying her hands off with a towel and chewing it thoughtfully.

"We should buy some more of those." she then said after swallowing what she had. "They'd taste great in a salad or something."

He fed her another strawberry as he nodded in agreement.

They talked for a little bit more, Adrien recognizing that she was still very jittery and was trying her best to calm down. He reached over to grab the last strawberry and offered it to her before he snickered and pulled it away, sticking it into his mouth.

"Hey!" she frowned, and he only smiled at her as it stuck out between his teeth. He leaned forward a bit and she blushed, folding her arms and saying grumpily,

"That's gross, I'm not doing that."

He cocked his head and watched as a smile crept onto her face. Then she darted up and gave him a kiss, effectively stealing half of the strawberry and nearly choking on it when she pulled away.

"Never doing that again!" she coughed through a mouthful of strawberry.

"Delicious." he sighed, and she gave him a push against his shoulders while rolling her eyes. Then she looked over at the clock and swallowed, her uneasiness returning once again.

"I better get going. Remember to go grocery shopping while I'm gone, we're running out of eggs." she said, reaching behind him to push all her stuff together and drop it into the big purse around her shoulder.

"Sure thing, and remember! You'll do great!" he said, pulling her back for a quick kiss, and then watching her run out the door with a wave.

As soon as the door shut he gave a sigh and pushed himself off the counter, gathering up the dishes that needed to be washed. He reached over and turned on the radio, de-transforming before he started up on the dishes.

"And you didn't save any strawberries for me..." Plagg sighed, sitting atop the faucet and poking the bubbles in the sink sadly.

"Oh, so you _can_ eat things other than cheese?" Adrien said, rolling his eyes, and Plagg smacked the bubbles with his small paws, making little bits of soap stick to Adrien's face.

"I didn't mean I was JUST going to eat Strawberries. I was going to eat them with some Brie! It would be heavenly." Plagg said, spreading bubbles over his face to create the ultimate bubble beard.

"For once, I agree with you, that does sound nice. Better than smelly old camembert."

"Brie smells stronger than camembert! Why must you harbor such negative feelings towards the most beautiful food on this planet?! Why Adrien, _why?!_ " Plagg cried, throwing his arms into the air as bubbles dripped off of his whiskers.

"After spending this long next to your stinky camembert breath, what little love I had for that cheese is now gone..." Adrien said, glaring down at the Kwami.

He finished washing the dishes and dried them one by one before he looked over the kitchen to see if he missed any.

"Oh no..." he breathed, his eyebrows knitting together in concern as he moved quickly over to the table.

Marinette's portfolio, the most important one, lay open on the table where they'd been looking at her Chat Noir suits.

"Should you go take it to her?"

"Definitely, either she hasn't noticed it's missing yet or she's losing her mind right now. Lets-" Adrien was interrupted by screams off in the distance accompanied by loud laughing.

He groaned, looking up at the ceiling, and Plagg shrugged.

"Looks like we'll have to take it to her after the fight." Adrien then sighed, running over to the window and throwing it open as he jumped onto the balcony, already transformed as he took off across the city.

He hoped that seeing Ladybug wouldn't be too painful. 

* * *

The fight was more annoying than anything else. Marinette felt as though they'd fought someone who'd had similar dumb reasons of being upset before, and she was tempted to throw a joke about it into the air. About how maybe Hawkmoth was losing his creativity. But she was having a hard time making jokes today as Chat Noir was not doing so good. He was having a hard time making any eye contact with her as they dodged attacks and told each other strategies.

But she did not have time to take him to the side and reassure him that they were still friends. As ordinary as this fight was, they still needed to finish it fast. Not only did peace need to come to Paris again, but she also needed to run home, grab her portfolio that she had OF COURSE left behind, and then make it back before anyone noticed she was missing.

"Come on now, we've gotta wrap this up, I've got places to be!" she shouted at the akuma who was sporting a large fluttery cloak that dragged behind him and would hypnotize you into seeing a mirage if you looked at it too long with it's mesmerizing peacock feather eyes.

"Yeah, I've got groceries to pick up after this!" Chat added, and she smiled, glad he remembered and also glad that he wasn't staying completely silent.

"No! You will never defeat _Le Paon Illusioner!"_ the peacock themed magician yelled back angrily, and she rubbed her aching temples. Why did she bother with the banter again?

Her yoyo swung rapidly for the next few minutes, while Chat tried to attack with his staff, each of them repeatedly running after mirages and not realizing it until too late when it would crumble into dust at their fingertips and then disappear.

"I've got an idea Chat!" Marinette finally said, grabbing him by the arm and he instantly turned to listen.

"Cataclysm that cloak off of him and then the brooch will fall free. That's gotta be what's been affected by the akuma, he touches it every time he makes a mirage." she said, pointing towards the brooch at the man's throat that held his cloak together.

"Got it. Make sure it's the real thing I'm going after please." he said with a nervous laugh before calling on his power and tensing his burning black fist.

"Ready... And..." she swung her yoyo forward and caught the solid man in its string who began to curse and struggle against it. "GO!" she yelled, and Chat sprung forward, claws outstretched towards the long trail of the coat. The akuma, panic in his eyes, instantly struggled to bring his hand up to his brooch and his tail flashed in the light, causing both superheros to squint for a split second.

And then things went bad fast.

Marinette felt her stomach drop as Chat ran Cataclysm first into a mirage.

A mirage of Ladybug.

She watched him stumble, nearly tripping as he stopped himself short, and quickly drew back his hand as the mirage crumbled around his fist, the dust turning black from the cataclysm spreading through it like a poison.

" _HOW DARE YOU!_ " Marinette yelled so loud she thought her voice may go hoarse. She was angry. So incredibly angry.

She pounced before the akuma could touch his brooch again and her fingers ripped it from his cloak, smashing it on the ground with so much force that bits of it cracked off and nearly hit her in the eye. She caught the butterfly the moment it appeared and dropped her yoyo as soon as it was cleansed.

And then she ran to Chat.

He was shaking, looking down at his hands and his chest rose and fell rapidly.

"Chat, it's okay, you didn't hit me! It was just a mirage Chat, I'm fine!" she instantly said, tripping over her words as she took him by the shoulders and turned him towards her. He stared at her for a moment, mouth open a little, like he didn't know what to say, and she quickly pulled him into a hug. Her hand curled around his head and she brought it down to her shoulder, swaying back and forth as she patted him carefully on his back.

"I... I know..." he choked out after a moment, and she squeezed him a little tighter.

It was a few minutes of her holding him tightly before he said something again.

"You didn't use your lucky charm... Is that okay?"

"I didn't... what?" she pulled away for a moment, hand still tight on his arm as he tried to even out his breathing. He looked upset, very upset, but like he was trying his very best to handle it all. She bent down to pick up her yoyo, considering whether or not to throw it into the air and call for lucky charm, just so she could do her spell.

But then she stopped and could hear Tikki speak to her in her mind, which she'd only done on a few occasions.

" _You could use Lucky Charm if you wanted to, but the Akuma didn't really do any damage. You two stopped him before anything happened, so using Lucky Charm wouldn't really change anything."_

"Hmm... Tikki said it's okay because he didn't do anything. I guess we can get on with our day then! You had groceries to get, right?" her voice faltered a bit when she looked over to see him again, still trembling a little as he hugged his own arms, eyes looking at her carefully, like he was making sure she was still there.

His ring beeped.

"Yeah. Bye." he said quietly, and made himself turn away, beginning to leave.

"Hey! Chat wait!" she called, catching his arm before he left.

"What?" he asked, wide eyed as he turned back towards her.

Marinette took a deep breath and grabbed his other shoulder with her hand, the red suit glaring at her against his black, and she once again had to remind herself that it was not Marinette talking to him, but Ladybug.

His ring beeped again. She looked up at him and said steadily,

"I think it's time." 

* * *

Adrien blinked at her.

"RIGHT NOW?!" he couldn't help but yell, before catching himself and hunching his shoulders apologetically. She gave a panicked but nervous laugh back, and stuttered breathlessly,

"No- no-no- not right now- but- but later? Maybe?! Maybe at like- ah- at eight?!"

"O-Okay! Y-Yeah! That- that's really- wow- okay!" he nodded quickly, and whatever shock from seeing Ladybug crumble in front of him was now completely blown out of the water.

"How about- we- at the- ah-"

"The tower?" he immediately suggested.

"Yeah- the tower- the Eiffel one- that has the spike thing- that one- yeah-" her voice was going higher and more broken with every word she spoke, and he was sure he was going to go dizzy from nodding so much.

His ring beeped again.

"I'll... I'll see you later. At eight. At the tower." he repeated, still nodding, and she nodded back, her hands tense against his forearms. She tried to smile, but it came out as some kind of crazed grimace, and he gulped.

She pulled him in for a quick hug then and with numb legs he separated from her and then extended his staff, jumping out of the area quickly.

With one final beep he de-transformed back into himself, his feet landing in an alleyway followed by the rest of him as he sunk against the wall. He felt like his heart was going to explode, it was beating so fast.

"Plaaaaaagg..." he moaned helplessly, clutching at his face.

"I'm not gonna get any sleep tonight." Plagg muttered and Adrien grinned.

Even if Marinette had still managed to completely overrule his feelings, Ladybug was still incredibly important to him. And sharing their identities... Adrien couldn't even comprehend it. He didn't know what to do with himself anymore.

"Plagg, what was I supposed to do today?"

"Well you gotta get groceries, but you also have to take that portfolio to-"

"MARINETTE!"

Adrien was bolting for the apartment as fast as he could.

* * *

So was Ladybug. 

* * *

Marinette was standing outlandishly in the middle of her apartment like a sore thumb with her spots as she carefully tucked her portfolio under her arm. She was about to leave when all of the sudden the door flew open and she gave a small, "eep!"

Adrien ran through the door, a gasping mess. He caught his breath for a moment as she stood there like a deer in the headlights, praying with what part of her brain was still conscious that he would somehow not see her-

Adrien had just looked up and his gasping breath died in his throat immediately.

They stood there in silence for a moment before, in a cracking voice, she said weakly,

"Uh... Adrien! What are you... Ah..." her eyes widened in panic, and her mind went blank. His eyes were growing larger and larger by the second.

"Oh my gosh..." she whispered then, feeling herself go completely and utterly numb as realization hit her. Adrien was turning pale now.

"You're... You're..." her tongue was refusing to spit out the words. Adrien's shoulders began hunching as he grit his teeth.

"YOU'RE EARLY!" she cried. They stared at eachother for a moment, unbearable silence filling the room. "I forgot it was Thursday." she then squeaked. A strange noise came from the back of his throat and he instantly straightened up and began stuttering,

"OH! Oh- y-yeah- Thursday was- was the day that- I mean- here I am! And you're..." he held out his hands, searching for words. Her heart stopped. Oh right. She was Ladybug.

"YEAH! MARINETTE- TOLD ME- THAT- SHE TOLD ME- THAT YOU WERE COMING OVER- ON THURSDAY! AND I WANTED TO THANK YOU... UH... FOR STOPPING THE AKUMA- THE OTHER DAY- AND- MARINETTE TOLD ME- BECAUSE- BECAUSE SHE'S... SHE'S MY FRIEND AND..." her loud exclamations died as her arms waved around helplessly, miming actions that wouldn't be able to translate over to anyone who was looking at her. She stared at him for a moment more before bending over, her arms dangling and head low, giving a frustrated sigh. "And that's even less believable than the truth..." she murmured, and pulled herself up, her face red.

He was holding onto his arm nervously, rocking on his feet a little as his face turned even redder than hers.

"Hi Adrien. I'm Marinette." she said quietly, looking down at her feet.

"H- Hi." he said in a hoarse voice. It was quiet for a moment more before she whispered quietly,

"I'm sorry."

"N-No! It's fine! I can understand why you'd keep that a secret, I mean- does... does anybody else know?" his voice sounded a little strangled.

"No..." she mumbled, ducking her head even more.

"Oh... oh wow..." he said, and she was worried he was going to fall over. He did in fact pull out a chair from the kitchen table and sat down hard, head in his hands.

"I know you weren't expecting it to be me... I wouldn't have either. And... and I have other stuff to tell you as well but I didn't want it to be awkward - even though it would have been anyways- oh gosh- I don't know how to say this- I probably shouldn't even bring this up- I gotta go-"

"Marinette. It's okay." Adrien interrupted her, looking as though he was getting ahold of himself, if even just for her. She chewed her lip.

"Adrien... I..." she gulped, and started over. "I've-maybe-had-a-crush-on-you-for-a-really-long-time." she blurted it out, looking up at him when she finished with her face absolutely on fire. He blinked, and very slowly a smile appeared on his face.

"Marinette, I-  
"W-Wait- no- ah..." she interrupted him, cringing as she did so with her hand outstretched. Then she said quietly,

"But... I mean...Things happened lately... and I still kinda like you... how could I ever stop doing that..."

They stared at each other in silence for a moment before she continued saying,

"But things are really confusing right now and- and I have to go- but- I want to talk to you about this!" she was getting frustrated with herself. This was an extremely delicate subject and she was being about as careful as a rhino running through flowers. _Why couldn't she just talk to him?!_

Adrien stood up and put his hands on her shoulders, making her look up through the tears that were beginning to rim her eyes. She really didn't want to hurt him.

"Marinette."

She rubbed at her tears, clearing her vision so that she could see him better.

He was smiling. Positively grinning. And it wasn't a pained smile, or a fake one to give her reassurance. He was genuinely smiling at her. He stood up as well and to her surprise, leaned in and gave her a kiss. A short one, but a nice one. Her legs shook a little bit and a squeak coming all the way from her middle school fantasies came from her mouth.

"It's okay." he laughed, nodding. "It's really... Really okay."

"...You're taking this really well." Marinette said, paranoid as she searched his eyes frantically. He laughed even more, shaking his head as he pulled her into a hug and said,

"Because you're my friend, and I support you."

She sighed a little, hugging him tightly back. Then he pushed away and pointed to her portfolio saying,

"You have somewhere important to be. I have things I need to tell you as well... Really... Important things. But we can do it later, because I don't want to distract you more than you already are."

"Oh you're right!" she cried, panic suddenly filling her as she realized how late she must be. She didn't think she could even do it with how frazzled her nerves were.

"It'll be alright, and you'll do fine! I'll come back later and we can talk." he said, pushing the portfolio into her arms. She nodded, gulping and walked backwards, finally breaking eye contact as she ran to the balcony again. Then she turned for just a moment to say,

"Goodbye Adrien! And thank you... That kiss still meant a lot to me."

"It meant a lot to me too. Goodbye." he was still smiling.

Marinette's heart ached a little bit, but seeing him smiling was like a bandaid over it all. And with a final nod to him, she zipped through the air back towards work and the critique that she was sure she was late to.


	9. Chapter 9

Adrien stumbled across the living room, watching her leave. Watching Ladybug leave. Watching Marinette leave. _Watching "the one and only love of his life who had been the same person all along" leave._

"Plagg..."

"NO."

"Plagg guess what."

"I REFUSE TO SPEAK TO YOU."

"Plagg, Marinette likes me... _Marinette is Ladybug! Do you know what that means Plagg?"_

"STOP."

" _It means Ladybug likes me Plagg!_ " Adrien cried, falling back onto the couch as Plagg flew out from his bag, groaning.

"Please Adrien, I'm going to hear this for the rest of my life, I've been dreading it for a really long time, please try to control your feelings and not talk my ears off for the next 70 years or so."

" _NOT A CHANCE!"_ Adrien cheered triumphantly, poking his Kwami in the stomach who hissed at him. "BECAUSE LADYBUG LIKES ME! _Marinette Dupain Cheng who is also Ladybug- LIKES ME!_ " he was now half whispering half yelling, grinning so much that even the moaning Plagg had to hide a smile, if only just for a moment.

Adrien grabbed a pillow and pressed it against his face, yelling into it for a second as his malfunctioning but happy brain tried to sort out everything that had happened.

He'd been living in an apartment with Ladybug for months now. He'd been going TO SCHOOL with Ladybug for YEARS. _She'd had a CRUSH on him for years!_

"HOLY... PLAGG- I'VE BEEN KISSING LADYBUG FOR ALMOST A WEEK NOW!"

Plagg only sighed, rolling his eyes, and Adrien laughed to himself triumphantly.

"Why didn't you tell her you were Chat?" Plagg then asked, perching himself on the pillow so he could look down into Adrien's eyes. Adrien frowned for a moment.

"Well she was so stressed out over the critique... and then add me finding out her identity... I don't want to overload her."

Plagg nodded a little absentmindedly, and then he looked down at Adrien again saying quietly,

"Are you scared as well?"

Adrien stared up at his kwami for a moment before looking away, biting his lip in thought.

"Maybe a little bit." he finally said after a moment, the shock finally taking a hold of his body and all of his worries and anxieties.

He was a little worried now. She meant so much to him. More than he'd even known five minutes ago. Two amazing people in his life had just morphed into one, and he could barely comprehend it.

And part of him really hoped that he could almost be like that for her too.

* * *

Marinette was flustered to say the least, her hands gripping her portfolio and then releasing to smooth her dress or check her hair. She was shaking head to foot as she tried to calmly walk between coworkers.

She'd been so ready before, so calm and prepared, only a little nervous. And now her composure was out the window. And she was worried she was late too, she hadn't checked the time yet.

 _He knows -he knows -he knows -he knows -ADRIEN KNOWS -ADRIEN KNOWS_

Marinette's mind was trying it's best to quiet the thoughts and try to collect herself before she faced Mr. Agreste, but the thought was running rampant in her mind.

"Marinette." Nathalie's voice made her jump and she quickly turned around, clutching her portfolio.

"Y-YE-es?" she tried to pull back the yell, ducking her head in embarrassment.

"Mr. Agreste was a little late today, he got held up due to the attack earlier, he apologizes, but he's waiting for you now." Nathalie said, pointing towards a group of collaborating stylists, Mr. Agreste a few yards off as he watched them work.

"Thank you." Marinette said weakly, turning around as she now approached him. At least relief had now settled in her stomach about being late, but it still left a gnawing feeling in it's absence.

She just wished that Chat could take her to the side for a few minutes and calm her down again. All she wanted to do was hug Chat right now, that would really just be lovely.

"Hello Miss Dupain-Cheng. Is that your portfolio?" Mr. Agreste said, glancing down at the portfolio in her hands.

"Y-Yes." she said with a nod, and he turned away from her, motioning her to follow him. She gulped and walked quickly behind him, trying to keep up with the tall man as he led her away through the working atmosphere. He walked with her into an office and closed the door behind her, Marinette making her way to a chair before a desk so she could place her portfolio on top of it. He sat on the other side and with hardly any expression at all began turning the pages. His eyes moved over the pictures, and it seemed as though he didn't even care. He'd seemed at least mildly interested last time she'd brought him her work, but this time it was like he barely recognized the drawings beneath his fingertips.

But it didn't discourage her... It only alarmed her.

Because as he turned the pages, she continued to glance up at his eyes and the only expression to describe them was _tired_.

Maybe a little sad too.

It wasn't till after a small sigh escaped him that Marinette dared to cough a little, drawing his attention back up at her.

"Um... I'm really... Really sorry to interrupt sir... But is everything alright?"

The words fell from her mouth before she could take them back, and Marinette instantly tensed her hands, scrunching up the skirt on her lap.

Had she really just asked her employer, the critical and calculating _Gabriel Agreste_ , if he was alright? She'd had _dinner_ with the man and she still felt as though there were miles to go before she could ever greet him with a friendly hello.

He blinked at her, and then looked back down at her work.

"No, nothing is wrong. I can see that you've made improvements where I gave you instruction, and learned from what I taught you to fix other mistakes that I did not point out. I think this is a wonderful portfolio from a beginner like you."

Marinette cringed while smiling, and before she could stop herself she pushed onwards with her questions,

"Well... thank you sir. You don't know how much that means... But... I was actually talking about you."

Gabriel looked at her blankly, and for a moment she wondered if there was actually shock in his eyes.

Marinette had never once seen much resemblance between Adrien and his father before, and she realized now that a lot of that must have been because of personality. They were so different it made it hard to believe the two were related at all. But as she looked at him now, looking so unsure for a split second, the familiarity of the expression hit her like a wave.

"I... I'm not sure it's your place to ask a question like that." Gabriel said after a moment, his eyes narrowing slightly, and Marinette gulped, gripping the edge of her chair in terror.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have- I... I just was a little worried, I'm sorry, you seemed distracted and I- Sorry- I just wondered if there was anything I could do or-" Marinette's voice was very small as she tried to find the right words to save her skin. Gabriel's sigh interrupted her and he closed the portfolio, pushing it towards her with downcast eyes. There was silence between them as she waited for the other shoe to drop, and she gulped when he looked up and made eye contact.

"I know he's staying with you." he said cooly, and Marinette's heart stopped.

 _Chat?_ Was he talking about Chat? Why would he know or care about that?! Regardless, Marinette felt like she'd just lost a few years off of her life from a near heart attack, this was much scarier than when Mrs. Leroux had figured them out.

"Please don't try to lie to me about it and cover it up, I'm sick of this drama." Gabriel said quietly, and he reclined back into his chair. Then he looked over to her carefully before saying,

"When I watch you two interact it's like I'm seeing a whole different person than the one I raised. I thought when he left that he'd be miserable and come back home in a week or so... but I suppose you really are his best friend... I've never seen him happier than the other day when you two were talking at the photo shoot."

Gabriel's voice was smooth, but Marinette was far from calm. She was mostly confused now. If he wasn't talking about Chat... then he must have been talking about Adrien?

 _But Adrien isn't staying with me. Adrien should be living at home..._

Marinette's mind slowly crept closer to panic as she realized that he _was definitely not living at home if Gabriel was telling the truth._

 _And that meant Gabriel Agreste thought that his son was living with her._

"Uh..." Marinette said, her voice barely above a whisper, but he shook his head, refusing to let her interrupt.

"Marinette, I'm not completely sure how to feel about you and Adrien, but perhaps you're better for him than I originally thought. For so long I believed that he really hadn't told you about our arguments, but there's no way you two could be living together for so long without him telling you the reason he left. I am baffled by your continued efforts to be unreadable about this at work though, it's as if nothing has happened at all." He paused, not meeting her eyes as he chewed on the words coming next.

"I thought for sure you would become angry at me or unwilling to work, but I feel as though the opposite has happened. It was quite professional, and I respect you for that."-

"Uh-" Marinette tried to interrupt, her mind racing a hundred miles an hour as she tried to compute everything he told her.

"The last few months have been difficult to say the least, and I have many things that I wish I could tell him. But for now there is only one thing that I wish Adrien to know. Would you tell him for me?" his stare held her in place as she felt shock numb her mind.

 _The last few months?!_ How long had Adrien been gone without her knowing?!

"Okay." Marinette rasped, incredibly confused now, but realizing the importance of the conversation anyways. Gabriel looked at her steadily, leaning in a little bit before saying.

"I want my son to know that I do trust him. I don't think I ever did... except for now. I was wrong. And he's much more competent than what I'd previously thought. Please tell him that."

Marinette, still blank faced, nodded slowly, trying to take the situation seriously without blowing up about questions of when and why Adrien had left, because she was sure he wouldn't believe her not knowing about it. It was better just to accept her fate and find Adrien _as soon as possible._

"I'll... I'll go tell him right now." Marinette said softly, reaching for her portfolio. Gabriel put a hand on it first however and said with a strange half smile,

"I'm sorry I was distracted. Your portfolio really is well done, I'll have to give you a better critique another time."

"Thank you." Marinette said, smiling nervously back, and she took her portfolio and walked out the door.

As soon as she was out of the building she had pulled out her phone and began texting Nino with trembling fingers, concern gnawing at her.

If Adrien had been gone for months, he could be staying anywhere! And when she thought about how many times he had actually come over to see her, she began to worry. It hadn't been very much at all, only once every two or so weeks, or on a weekend by occasion. Marinette, trusted Adrien to be able to take care of himself, but that didn't mean she wasn't worried. The thing that frightened her the most was that he hadn't told her about _any_ of this.

 _ **M: Nino!**_

 _ **N: What's up? :)**_

 _ **M: Did Adrien tell you he ran away from home? Or did he just not tell me?**_

 _ **N: What?!**_

Marinette frowned. He hadn't even told Nino, this must have been a secret that he'd been very careful about.

 _ **M: I just talked to his dad and apparently he hasn't been home for months now! I guess they've been fighting**_

 _ **N: Well I knew that, he didn't want to tell you because you were working for his dad. But he just told me that they weren't talking! I'm texting him right now**_

 _ **M: No, it's okay! I'm about to go find and talk to him in person.**_

 _ **N: Fine, text me when you're done so I can give him a pep talk or whatever**_

 _ **M: Okay**_

Marinette didn't have the heart to add a smiley face, she just switched to Adrien's contact, quickly asking him where he was.

 _ **A: I'm close to your apartment, how did your critique go?**_

Marinette didn't reply, she just ran faster till she rounded the street corner and neared the apartment. Adrien was walking down the road before her, phone in his palm as he looked like he was patiently awaiting a text from her.

"Adrien!" Marinette cried, and he looked up immediately, grinning.

"Hey Marinette!" he said happily, waving at her, and she was already hating the situation. She caught up to him, the small empty street seeming smaller now that it was only them standing in it, and she was grateful for that fact. Part of her wondered if Chat was watching them from the window above as she caught her breath before the smiling Adrien.

"How did your-"

"Why didn't you tell anyone?!" Marinette interrupted him, taking him by the shoulders and making his eyes widen in shock.

"What? Tell anyone what?" he asked, his eyebrow raised. "About... about your secret? Marinette, I wouldn't-"

"No! You ran away from home, _why didn't you tell me?!_ "

The smile on his face left immediately, dropping into a stunned expression, and she continued saying,

"Adrien, that's a big deal! You didn't even tell Nino!Did you think we just wouldn't find out?! How long have you been gone?!" She waited for him until he answered with a quiet voice,

"The... the night you came over for dinner."

"That long?! Adrien! Why?!"

He looked back at her frustrated and worried face with one of fright and anxiety. He almost looked like a child being caught in a lie, too scared to say very much at all.

"Adrien, just because I'm working with your father doesn't mean you can't tell me stuff like this! That's what friends do! You could have come to me for help! Where are you staying?! Have you just been... been keeping it all bottled up?!" Marinette was pacing now, hands fluttering around her anxiously. She didn't know what to do for him, she was just so appalled that he'd been keeping this a secret for so long. She looked back at him for answers, and all he gave her was a downcast face and guilty eyes. He didn't look like he was going to say anything, he was just taking it all quietly, and Marinette realized it was what he'd always done. Taken everything quietly and barely saying a word. It frustrated her, it worried her, and above all it made her want to hug him very tightly.

"Adrien, I care about you! You KNOW I care about you, and you could have told me this! You don't have to keep things from your friends! I would have been completely okay with you coming to me for 's not unusual to have disagreements with parents, I could have handled that at work! All those times you've come over, you could have come more! I would have let you talk all night, I would have let you STAY with me!"

Marinette was going to say more but any words that she had at that point died in her throat. She stared at him, and suddenly her mind became incredibly numb. Yes, the street was quiet, but any faraway sound of cars disappeared as all she could hear was her own heart pounding. He looked back at her with a quiet expression, unsmiling, more hopeless than nervous, and Marinette could not believe she hadn't recognized his expression in the first place.

After a moment she finally opened her mouth. Her voice felt dry on her tongue.

"You're... You're Chat."

He gulped.

Marinette took a step back, suddenly feeling very dizzy and weak kneed, and she brought a hand up to her forehead to push back her bangs.

"You're Chat Noir... You left the night I had dinner with you... The night you came over..."

"Marinette-" when he finally said something, his voice sounded strangled and dry, and he tried to step forward cautiously.

"I have to go." she said simply, and she turned on her heels, walking quickly away from him and trying hard not to break into a run. She didn't look back to see if he was following her, but she didn't need to. The only footsteps she could hear were her own.

At the very least, she trusted him to stay right where he was.

* * *

Marinette collapsed onto the shady park bench, elbows on her knees and head in her hands. She didn't know what to think or what to feel. She was genuinely at a loss for words.

Her fingers found her purse and soon Tikki was emerging carefully, her small hands pulling her up over the top of the bag, and reaching to touch Marinette's fingers.

"I forgot that you knew..." Marinette said quietly, and Tikki gave a small polite laugh, shrugging. "Ugh... That must have been so unbearable to watch..." she groaned, massaging her head. Tikki laughed more.

"It was... But that's okay... What are you going to do now?"

"I don't know... I just don't know. Do you think I can just run away from my entire life right now? Can't I just move to China and live with Uncle Cheng for the rest of my life? I could just give up fashion for making soup. That sounds like a plan to me." Marinette joked bitterly, and Tikki gave her a sad smile.

"I think that would be a little over the top. How about you take a moment to calm down and breathe? How are you feeling?" Tikki prodded, and Marinette gave an exhausted sigh.

"I feel... Kind of betrayed. But that's horrible and I should NOT feel like that... Because to feel that way would be hypocritical. I kept the fact that I'm Ladybug from Chat for so long..."

Tikki nodded seriously.

"I'm upset that we didn't get to tell each other as partners like we should have... I'm... Really upset about that. And I'm afraid to talk to him about it, because it hurts to think that I was scared for so long that it literally took an accident for me to tell him. And I didn't even think it was him... I don't know how to face him knowing that I've probably hurt him for a long time." Marinette tapped her feet on the ground, and thought some more.

"I can't even imagine how he felt after I told him... He figured this all out about an hour before I did. Agh..." she rubbed her eyes and then hung her head. "I was mad at Adrien because I was worried about him keeping things to himself... But the whole time he was just coming to me as Chat... I guess that means he trusted me even before he liked Marinette, hmm?"

"You two have the natural affinity to be best friends. From the moment you met, no matter the relationship, you've always been drawn to each other. Even in this one, when the two of you should have been strangers, Marinette and Chat." Tikki said with a smile. Marinette smiled a little too and she leaned her head against her arms thoughtfully.

"All those times that Chat Noir would show up because he was 'wandering around'... It was Adrien checking up on me... Aaahhhh I'm not sure how middleschool me feels about that." Marinette laughed, tugging on her hair as her cheeks turned a little pink. Tikki laughed as well and then chimed in,

"Not to mention when Nathanael turned into an akuma and Chat Noir _would not stop flirting with you_ -"

"AAAAHHHHH." Marinette said louder, covering her face as she remembered ALL the times Chat Noir had done ANYTHING around her and how that had in fact been Adrien Agreste.

"How do you feel now? Better?" her Kwami asked hopefully, and Marinette looked over her fingertips at her.

"Yeah...Embarrassed... But also flattered."

"That's okay. Imagine how Adrien must be feeling, realizing that Ladybug was always a few feet away from him while he grew up."

"I bet he had a field day after I told him this morning." the girl sighed. Then after a moment of silence she said,

"Tikki, I really am happy. I'm just frustrated. At everything."

"Well be sure to tell him that when you see him next. He's probably worried you're mad at him."

"And when am I supposed to see him next?"

Marinette wasn't sure she could go back to the apartment ever again.

* * *

Adrien was sitting atop the tower, checking his staff to see that it was nearly 8. He didn't expect that she'd come, but he sure hoped she would.

He was worried that she was so upset he would be stuck up on the tower all night. There was no way he was going back home to the apartment though, he didn't dare approach her at the moment. He'd spent the whole day putting away groceries, cleaning up whatever was a mess in the apartment, buying another bouquet because he had no idea how to fix this mess but he figured flowers would help, and waiting till 8 so he could see if she would come.

He'd also had to answer Nino's texts, who was 'tired of waiting for Marinette to get back to him and needed answers asap'. Adrien had told him he'd simply left home after a fight and hadn't wanted to start drama with anyone, that he had _planned_ on telling him eventually, but that he'd been stressed out enough over it to make it into something big.

Nino had of course responded with the same words that Marinette had, about bottling up emotions and going to friends for support. Adrien had to endure through it, making apologies and trying to end the conversation, grateful that he had a good friend like Nino, but also exhausted by him.

Plagg had been pretty quiet most of the day, realizing that Adrien was not in the mood for talking much, but he did try to give Adrien a piece of cheese to make him feel better. And Adrien decided that that was pretty nice of the cheese-hoarding Kwami.

He'd eaten it, even though living with Plagg had nearly killed off his appetite for the food, and had indeed felt a little better. If only for the sake of his Kwami.

When 7:30 had finally arrived he'd headed towards to tower, ready to be let down if he had to be. Part of him knew he was probably the last person she wanted to see at the moment, but the other half of him desperately wanted to believe that she'd keep the promise of meeting him later that night.

"Was that really today...? Did she really promise to meet up with me today?" he mumbled, tapping his claws on the cold metal beneath him. "It feels like it was weeks ago, but it was only this morning..."

Adrien moaned a little into his knees that were pulled up to his face, and he tried to calm down, his stomach feeling very sick.

He only looked up when he heard a whizzing sound come through the air.

There she was, face looking calm, yet twitching a little as she tried to hold back any other emotion. He waited for a moment as she sat down beside him, right where they almost always sat together on the tower, and her legs swung silently off of the side, her face turned away.

Adrien's stomach twisted more and more.

There was Ladybug. Ladybug was Marinette. His buried suspicions were now true and every slight similarity he'd ever noticed between them now came crawling up from his stomach to form an uncomfortable lump in his throat.

He decided that she should say something first, even though he wanted to ask her for forgiveness, maybe laugh about everything, just hear something that reassured him she wasn't furious with him. He'd be okay with anything, as long as she didn't hate him.

After a minute or two of him glancing at her as she firmly looked away, she finally reached out with her arm, circling his shoulder and pulling him into a side hug.

Adrien let out a shaky sigh of relief, setting his forehead down against his shoulder.

At least she didn't hate him.

Ladybug- or rather, Marinette -reached over with her other hand and found his head, running her fingers over his hair and effectively smoothing out the bottled stress in his body. Adrien's breathing returned to semi-normal.

"I'll forgive you if you forgive me..." she finally said, her voice very controlled, but on the verge of breaking. Adrien sighed again, relaxing even more as he hugged her back.

"Of course I forgive you. You were scared... I was nervous too. I feel more like laughing over this than anything else!" He tried to end lightly, forcing out a cautious laugh. Marinette didn't respond and he gulped, pushing his head further down onto her shoulder.

"Do you want me to move out?" he breathed, trying very hard to not make it obvious that he was about to cry from the tension.

"Yes."

The answer hit him like she had just punched him in the stomach, and even though he'd been trying to expect it, he was more hurt than he'd thought he'd be. He opened his mouth to say something, but all he could do was swallow the lump in his throat as he eyes began to sting.

" _Because..._ " Marinette continued, and he felt her fingers pull away to move to his face, brushing his messy bangs from his eyes and he felt confused but hopeful at the smile on her lips, _Ladybug's smile and Marinette's smile_ , the one that reminded him of his mother's.

"I know the perfect place for you to stay."


	10. Chapter 10

WELL HERE WE ARE. THE FINAL CHAPTER.

You guys are so amazing, and I'm so happy that you've followed my story for this long, and left me such wonderful comments. Writing this makes me feel more confident in writing and knowing that this fic is about the size of an average novel… well I feel like if I worked hard I could actually write a publish-able book. :)

So THANK YOU for your support and I'm glad you've like this story so much. I can't believe it's as popular as it is. Aaahhh that's just really really cool guys. :) I may write some extra chapters because I love this little Stray Chat universe that I've built. :)

I hope you like the ending! I had fun writing it!

(Also, a big thank you to dreamwips / zizzani who is amazing and beta read most of these chapters to make them even better! 3 ILY!)

* * *

"Marinette, I found more of your shrine of me."

"It was not a _shrine!_ And anyways, I had a collection of modeling photos and inspiration not- not-" Marinette tried to spit words back at him, but the complacent smirk on his face made her choose to snatch the photos out of his hands and push them into her purse.

She was mad at him, but not really mad. She wasn't mad that he hadn't told her who he was, because thinking that would only make her feel guilty due to her own actions. But wow was she mad that Adrien Agreste was actually a dork and had been in love with her for a ridiculous amount of time without her even knowing it.

She could barely stand to look at him when he made the expressions she was so used to seeing on Chat. This was unnatural.

And yet he'd never seemed so perfect.

Adrien finished putting some suits into the closet where he'd found the remaining traces of her middle school obsession, and then turned back towards her with an unsure smile. Marinette tapped the side of her leg distractedly and rocked on her heels before saying with a shrug,

"We could repaint it if you'd like. What's your favorite color?… Green?"

Adrien smiled, shaking his head before looking up at the soft pink walls with small black flowers hand painted around the windows.

"I don't want to repaint. It reminds me of you wherever I look." he reached his arms out a little and she leaned into a hug, squishing her blushing cheek against his shoulder as she looked up at all the personality she'd coated her room with throughout the years.

"But it's your room now, not mine…." she said, frowning a little as they stood wrapped up together.

"But it was your room first!" he protested.

"That doesn't matter!"

"Fine then, it's _our room_." he said, trying to keep a steady voice and hold back a snicker in his tone. She pushed him away, glaring at him.

"Why do I tolerate you?" she said, and he just grinned and laughed.

"I don't know." he sighed, looking truly helpless as he shook his head. She hugged him again, pulling him closer as she tucked her head beneath his chin and prayed it wasn't too much contact.

Things had been weird to say the least. After the night on the Eiffel tower that had lasted long past midnight as they laughed over their past and nervously discussed the future; they'd returned home and gone straight to sleep with what night hours they had left.

And as they'd moved on throughout the week, moving Adrien's things out of the bedroom and into what took up two cardboard boxes, they'd tried to mend the awkwardness. It was definitely better, but still there.

Marinette blinked, feeling her eyelashes brush against his skin as she rested her head on his shoulder, and she pursed her lips tightly. They stood there for a moment, happy to be there holding each other in the quiet of her old bedroom.

"Are you sure about this?" Marinette said so quietly, her voice sounded odd in her ears.

"Of course I am. We were both sure about this until you started to get cold feet." Adrien laughed, having had this conversation with her over and over again the past few days.

"I know… I just feel bad. I know you wanted to stay… and I want you to stay too." she choked, her voice shaking as she finished.

"Mari…." he sighed, shaking his head. He pushed her away, holding onto her shoulders so he could look at her face, and he said with a smile,

"Of course I want to stay. Sharing an apartment with you was one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had. You could never know how much it meant to me, and how much it helped. But," he moved his hands to her face, using his thumb to wipe away a tear that was forming at the corner of her eye. "You were right. We need to start over. It wasn't really our fault we jumped head first into this mess…"

"Well it kind of was, we were both too chicken to tell each other who we were." Marinette laughed, trying to smile.

"That's true. But in any case, you were right the other night. I need to move out, just like I had to move out of my house. If we're going to do this, we have to start over. Adrien and Marinette-"

"Chat and Ladybug." she finished, smiling a little as she cupped her own hand over his.

"Yeah." he said softly, completely content as he looked at her with an expression that made Marinette's heart beat a little faster.

"I guess it really is for the best. Now you don't have to walk ten minutes every morning to buy croissants for breakfast. Or maybe that isn't so good… I think all that walking was the only thing keeping you thin." Marinette teased him, poking his stomach with her finger and making him jump away a little, laughing and also yelping a little.

"How much do you think I eat?!" he cried, grinning still.

"More than you think you do," she said, folding her arms and giving her head a toss. She walked over to the window, looking out at the view, and Adrien soon joined, leaning on the sill beside her. "Besides all that though, this will be good… My parents have been a little overworked ever since I left… you working here will really help them a lot. And if you do get accepted to UPMC it's only a 10 minute walk…" Marinette trailed off when she saw the grin hiding behind his pursed lips.

"Adrien… oh my gosh…" she turned towards him, shocked.

"I got the letter this morning… I got in!" he said, biting his lip as he tried his best to hold in his excitement. The Pierre and Marie Curie University was one of the first schools that Adrien had applied to. He'd been unsure about getting in, but she'd assured him that he was good enough to do it. And if he wasn't accepted, then she was sure whatever school took him would be a wonderful fit. She'd known he could do it, even when he was just Chat to her, she could tell he could make it in.

Marinette latched onto him, hugging him very tightly as she gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"I'm so proud of you! So so SO proud! I knew you could do it!" she cried, bouncing on the balls of her feet and making him laugh more. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, bringing his face down to hers as he rested his forehead against hers. Her heart thrummed. They were getting closer and closer. Only a little bit more and that uneasiness between them would be completely melted away.

"Thank you. I'm going to tell my father tomorrow… that among other things."

"That's good. He does want to talk to you." she hummed back quietly, her nose being tickled by his steady breathing up against her face.

"It sounded like it…. Well me too. I think it will go well. At least I hope it will."

"It'll be fine." she murmured, rubbing his arm comfortingly.

"Mmm." his eyes were closed now,

"Do you want to go for a rooftop run?" she then asked, and he smiled, nodding.

"That sounds wonderful…" he said softly, and she leaned forward a little closer, her nose against his as-

"Oh! Excuse me." Marinette looked over to see her mother quickly leaving the scene, the trap door closing fast.

"It's alright!" Adrien laughed, blushing as he stopped the woman from leaving.

"Y-Yeah!" Marinette joined in, _even if it wasn't alright_.

"Well I just came up to ask if you needed any help, but it looks like you've moved in just fine…"

"Yep! We just finished taking down all the pictures of me on the walls!" Adrien said happily, following her mother down the stairs.

"ADRIEN!" Marinette snapped, blushing again as she closed the door behind her, stomping down the stairs in frustration.

Her mother was only laughing, knowing even more about Marinette's obsession than Adrien did.

"Well if you two are done we have a delivery that needs to be taken down a few blocks. Are you up for it?" Sabine said, motioning towards Tom who was scribbling down addresses on a paper.

"This is my new job isn't it? Of course I'm up for it!" Adrien said happily, nodding. Then he nudged Marinette with his elbow saying, "We could go for our walk afterwards."

She grinned back, nodding.

"Marinette, is Adrien ever going to be around here to help or are you going to occupy all of his time?" her mother sighed, making Marinette turn a pink color.

"She still has work to go to, I won't let her spend all her time with me." Adrien laughed, a little pink too, but enjoying the teasing a lot more than Marinette was.

"It's just a good thing you didn't move in with her after you left home, otherwise you two would distract each other so much you wouldn't be able to get any work done." Tom said, finishing writing addresses on the paper before handing it to Adrien who had successfully turned pinker.

"That would just be an all around bad idea, I don't think Marinette could feed him properly anyways, he's already a big eater." Sabine said, taking Adrien's face in her hands and patting his cheeks.

He laughed nervously, glancing over to Marinette who'd began picking at the edge of her skirt, face red but also a little reserved as she thought about the secret between them.

It still hurt to lie to her parents, after all these years of superheroing and making excuses, Marinette was worn out from it all. But when she thought about how worried they might have been if they knew, it made her feel a little better about keeping secrets.

They'd already made their story for their friends to know, and it wouldn't help if their parents knew a different one. Adrien had ran away from home and not told anyone, trying his best to live alone until Marinette had found out and insisted that he stay with her parents.

That was the story that everyone was going to know, the story Gabriel Agreste was going to hear as well. Marinette knew it was going to be difficult to convince the man that they hadn't been living together, but Adrien said Gabriel kept enough to himself that it wouldn't make much of a difference anyways.

So for now they had to pretend like they hadn't been becoming more close than anyone had originally imagined, the only thought that anyone would probably have about them was how Adrien and Marinette had _finally_ managed to become a couple so quickly.

Marinette was glad they didn't have to hide that fact, otherwise she didn't know if she could hold back all the secrets in her head. Because at the moment, she felt a little sad that things had to be this way.

Sabine noticed her downcast expression and pulled her hands away from Adrien's face, saying a little innocently,

"Well… It's not all such a bad idea. You know, I still have all those photos, do you want to go make wedding invitations-"

Marinette gave a strangled yell and Adrien grabbed her hand, pulling her out of the shop quickly as he grabbed large bags of pastry boxes from Tom.

"Come on Marinette, let's go get these out in time!"

Marinette gave one last horrified glance to her parents, who were laughing behind their fingers, and the door shut with the bell tinkling behind them.

Adrien threaded his fingers between hers and pulled her a little closer as they began their walk down the street in awkward silence.

"Do you want me to carry some of those?" she asked weakly as she saw how much he was carrying in his other hand.

"No… I don't think you're in the right state to not be clumsy." he said lightly, and she frowned at him.

Marinette then waited a few more moments before she squeezed his hand a little and said quietly,

"I'm sorry… they're embarrassing." Adrien laughed and shook his head.

"No, they're wonderful! And anyways… maybe… you know… what they were talking about…" Marinette swallowed a lump in her throat and blurted out immediately,

"Adrien Agreste, we have been dating for only a couple of weeks, don't you dare start talking like that."

"Yes, but we have been working together for more than 5 years."

"S-So-" Adrien interrupted Marinette's spluttering by pausing in his walk and turning towards her, hand still holding hers and he laughed,

"Marinette, I just want you to know that you're important to me. And you know me better than anyone else does."

"…Y-yeah… You're important to me too." she swallowed and then added quietly, "I love you."

He pulled her into a hug, boxes of pastries bumping into her side as he enveloped her, pressing his face into her hair.

"I love you too."

Marinette felt a little giddy after that, though her heart was at peace, and the next hour of them delivering pastries was filled with laughing and smiles. She didn't know what was going to happen here on. She didn't know what would happen to them, what they would do in their lives, or how long they'd even keep superhero-ing around the city. But she did know they'd be okay.

If they'd survived the past years of chasing each other around like they had been, then they'd make it through whatever else life could throw at them. Because now they knew each other. The uncertain shyness that had shrouded their relationship had been thrown away and now they were whole, just like fate had always meant them to be.

"This is the last box Adrien! It's strange to me how popular our bakery can be around this richer area." Marinette said as she looked up at the fancy building before her.

"Sometimes homemade pastries made with kindness are better than what you can get at a 5 star restaurant…" Adrien said softly, sounding a little distracted and making Marinette look up at him.

"What's wrong?"

"Oh… My house- or- the… We're close to the Agreste mansion." he said, barely motioning with his elbow in the direction of his old home. Marinate nodded, watching him carefully. He seemed anxious about it.

"You were going to go see him tomorrow, weren't you?" she asked, and he nodded distractedly. Then he took the box of pastries and left her for a moment, delivering it to the household inside.

When he came back out he smiled at her like he'd forgotten about the conversation they hadn't finished, and he hooked her arm saying brightly,

"Ready for our walk?"

"Yes I am! Let's go this way first." she said, pulling him in the direction of the Agreste mansion.

"Wait- Marinette! Not today, I- I promise I'll do it tomorrow, it'll be alright-"

"Nope! I really think you should do it right now."

"But I didn't schedule with him! He won't want to see me-"

"Adrien Agreste!" Marinette stopped, putting her hands on her hips. "He is your father! And if he doesn't MAKE time for you then I'm going to reschedule him _myself_! Of course he wants to see you, you both need to fix this right now! I don't want to go on a walk with you if your mind is half occupied with a conversation you're going to have the next day!"

"….Fine." he sighed, screwing up his face painfully.

"It'll be alright." Marinette said, patting his arm and leading him down the street.

She then tried to lighten his mood a little by talking about how Plagg had gotten into her knitting yarn and had successfully tangled himself up till he had called for help. Plagg followed this by sticking his head out of her purse where he'd been taking a nap with Tikki and blatantly denied the entire story. Adrien, instead of siding with his Kwami, proceeded to tell Marinette about the time the cat had gotten his head stuck inside of Chloe's bracelet and caused the outbreak of civil war in their classroom and the akumatization of Sabrina's father. Plagg had sunk sullenly back into purse after this as Tikki began giggling uncontrollably.

Then they went quiet again as they reached the gate of the Agreste home. Adrien reached up and touched the doorbell, and waited until he heard Nathalie's voice.

"Hello, who is this?"

"Nathalie? It's Adrien."

"Adri-" her voice cut out and the gate immediately began to swing open. Adrien looked over to Marinette with a slightly scared expression and shrugged saying,

"I guess that means we can go inside…"

They didn't get very far before Nathalie came out, trying to go down the stairs as quickly and dignified as she could before she reached them.

"Hello Nathalie." Adrien said, smiling as he reached out and pulled the woman into a hug. She was obviously surprised by this, but then smiled as well, hugging him back softly for a moment before pulling away.

"Adrien, it's so nice to see you. How are you doing?"

"Really good. I moved into the room above Marinette's family bakery. I'm working there now." he motioned towards Marinette, who smiled shyly.

She felt like she was being introduced to who was like a mother to him. And even though she'd worked with Nathalie for awhile now, it still felt a little intimidating.

"That's nice… did you come to talk to your father?"

Adrien visibly gulped a little, but he nodded firmly anyways.

"If he has time…"

"Oh Adrien, I run his schedule, I'll _make_ time." she said, shaking her head and leading the way back up the front steps. Marinette gave him a 'told you so' smile, and he shrugged, still looking a bit terrified.

They followed Nathalie all the way up the stairs, reaching the landing and turning off into a hallway that Marinette was sure led to Mr. Agreste's office.

Nathalie pushed open the doors and was met instantly by Mr. Agreste saying coldly,

"Nathalie, I told you, I have to work on these designs and I must not be disturbed-" he stopped turning in his chair when his eyes landed on Adrien.

"Adrien?" Mr. Agreste stopped in mid-sentence, his eyes narrowing in a surprised and concerned way.

"…I came to talk to you." Adrien said quietly, not looking away from his father's gaze.

Mr. Agreste glanced at Marinette for a moment, who realized, now that Nathalie had backed out of the room, that she was third wheeling this conversation in a very awkward way.

But Adrien, sensing her discomfort, tightened his grip around her fingers and pulled her a tiny bit closer.

 _It's fine and you need to stay. We're going to face problems together now._

Mr. Agreste seemed to read that too, because he set his pen down on the table and sat a little straighter in his chair, looking back at them like Marinette was not an accessory but an important part of the conversation.

However Marinette was going to let Adrien mend this without her voice.

"I wanted to fix things. Marinette told me what you said… and if you trust me than I'm going to tell you the truth." Adrien finished his sentence a little wavering, and Marinette shot him a very quick and panicked glance. _What exactly do you mean by truth?!_

"You're the only one who knows this… we don't want to tell anyone because like you, we try to avoid attention. I did go to Marinette for help when I left home, and she did take me in because she is by far the closest friend that I have." Adrien said cooly, and Marinette gulped a little as she thought on his words.

What did that mean to Adrien, now that he knew she was Ladybug? It meant his Lady had taken in her partner, and comforted him as best as she could. It meant she'd let him in while risking her own identity's safety. If it meant so much to him as Marinette doing it, she couldn't imagine what it felt like to know it was Ladybug doing it for Chat. She could hear the raw gratefulness in his voice as he said the words, and it burned in her heart till she felt her knees would give out beneath her.

"But you're obviously not just friends, are you?" Mr. Agreste sighed, pointing out the obvious as Adrien's thumb hooked around her fingers a little more tightly. Marinette laughed nervously, still a little dazed at that thought, and Adrien turned a little pink as well.

"No sir… But neither of us were really planning for that to happen. It's only been…a few weeks."

 _It feels like years already, even if we didn't know it._

"But that's why I've decided to move out. I'm living above the Dupain-Cheng's bakery now… they're letting me stay for free as long as I help them with running the bakery. I…" Adrien took another breath and he said confidently, a smile spreading across his face, "I also got accepted at the Pierre and Marie Curie University. I'm going to be starting school next year."

The smallest look of surprise flashed across Mr. Agreste's eyes but then a smile turned up the corners of his mouth slightly.

"Of course you did… congratulations."

"Thank you."

They all stood there for a moment, and it was quiet, but not entirely uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry Adrien… for what I've done."

"I forgive you." Adrien said almost immediately after his father had said this incredibly quietly. He let go of Marinette and approached his father, holding out his hand.

They shook firmly, eyes locked as Adrien continued to smile. Then he leaned forward a little more and hugged his father, the action so intimate that Marinette had to look down for a moment in slight embarrassment for having seen it.

"Your mother always told me you were going to do things your own way, no matter what direction I steered you in. I may not agree with certain things, but the knowledge that you are happy overrules any of those thoughts. Thank you for coming back for me, Adrien."

"Thank you for letting me see you, Dad." Adrien choked a little, and Marinette looked up when she could see his feet come towards her again.

"Goodbye Mr. Agreste." she said softly, nodding towards him as Adrien began walking towards the door.

"Goodbye Marinette. And thank you for everything you've done for my son." Mr. Agreste nodded back, and she smiled.

"You're welcome."

 _I wouldn't have been able to turn that stray away no matter how hard I tried._

* * *

Adrien breathed a sigh of relief as the gates of his old home closed behind him, and he felt Marinette squeeze his arm.

"Do you feel better?" she asked, grinning up at him. She's so short.

"I do." he laughed, smiling back down at her.

He did feel better. Things weren't completely fixed, Adrien knew that the hole left from his mother's absence and the damage that had occurred afterwards, was not something that could be fixed by one conversation and a heartfelt moment.

But it did feel incredibly better.

"Ready for our walk?" Marinette asked, nudging him a little bit and making a sly smile spread across his face.

"Nothing would sound more fun, My Lady." he returned, and laughed as she pulled him down the nearest alleyway she could find.

Transforming side by side was one of the strangest feelings Adrien had ever experienced. Energy buzzed between them, crackling and sparking, and complimenting colors of green and red bombarded his eyes. He smiled at her as the mask he knew so well formed around her blue eyes, and he marveled at how he'd never seen them as the same person before.

Once she was fully transformed and he again battled the overwhelming amazement of knowing her identity, he reached out a hand to her which she took gently, and he kissed it. He wanted to really kiss her in that moment, but there was a twinge of uneasiness still clinging onto their relationship which had so recently shattered and then formed back together again. He didn't dare try for a kiss too soon. But this was enough, he decided, as he pulled away from her then and circled an arm around her waist, extending them up into the air with his staff before their feet touched down onto the rooftops below them.

"I'll race you to the Louvre." she said, winking at him as she gave herself a head start and bounded away.

"Cheater." he replied, jumping after her through the air.

They chased each other the entire way, barely paying attention to the Parisians beneath them who pointed their fingers at the racing duo. It was the loudest they had ever laughed and yelped, and just hearing them made the civilians smile up at them.

When his boots landed on the gravel, a few feet and moments away from Ladybug's landing, he straightened up to see her grinning at him.

"So you beat me, I can take the hit, you won," he sighed, and before he thought about what he was saying, feeling so comfortable with their old bantering groove, "How about a kiss as a prize?" he was smiling cheekily, leaning in, and she leaned right into him.

They stayed there for half a moment, eyes closed as their lips met and whatever doubt was left vanished, until they had pulled away. And right as they did, it was like a bomb had went off.

 _Oh right. We're in public._

Parisians were losing their minds, cameras out and flashing, cheering and yelling, and Adrien had never seen Ladybug with that red of a face before. But then again, he wasn't much better. Marinette's face broke from it's stunned expression however, and she gave him a kiss on the cheek, pulling his arm down so she could reach him better. He was probably even redder now, thank goodness his mask covered most of his face.

"Alright, time to go." she then said, motioning her head towards the crowd clamoring towards them with questions and cameras. So with a hearty farewell, Adrien waved to the crowd and ran off with his Lady right by his side.

* * *

Plagg and Tikki quickly vacated the scene as the couple de-transformed, safe from eyes on their stone hideaway between the gargoyles of Notre Dame. They'd spent hours playing tag across Paris, while simultaneously hiding from crowds of onlookers who were trying to find proof of the news that the Ladybug and Chat Noir they loved so much were indeed a couple now.

Marinette usually would have shook her head at the idea of playing around Paris and using their suits for anything but a fight, but tonight she really didn't care. They'd sat on the tops of tour boats and gone down the Seine, raced each other up the side of the Eiffel Tower, and sat thoughtfully in front of the White Chapel while looking down at the moving city before them. Her day had been full and fun, and she couldn't think of anyone better to spend it with than Adrien Agreste, her very own Chat Noir.

No middle school dream of a perfect date, or passing fantasy she'd had in the night could top the absolute joy coursing through her as she sped along rooftops beside him. This was the only thing she wanted to do for the rest of her life. Stay right by his side, whether on rooftops or the ground.

As they made contact with the old Cathedral she fell into him, wrapping her arms around him and burying herself beneath his chin. There they stood for awhile, almost dancing as they swayed, and watched the lights of the city grow brighter and the sky grow dimmer. Soon they had fallen to their knees, holding each other's hands to keep warm as the cool breeze passed through them, and Marinette leaned forward once again today and met his lips with hers. She could barely even see him in the light, just his gold hair shimmering like a halo around his head from what light they were receiving, but to her, just that alone looked beautiful.

She pulled her hands from his and carefully laced her fingers through his halo of hair, pulling his lips into hers as she tasted all that she expected him to taste like. From the sugar of croissants they had shared, to the faint trace of salt from his sweat, and everything in between. His arms wrapped around her, pulling her into his lap, and as close as he could get without hurting her, which she appreciated. When she was running side by side him she felt like they were the same size. But when she was this close to him she realized how small she really was.

She broke away from his lips for a moment, arching her neck back as he seamlessly moved with her, carefully kissing the skin beneath her chin and causing herself to shake a little at the touch. She in turn pressed her fingers gently into his scalp, gripping his hair enough to let it slide through her fingers so she could feel how soft it really was.

She finally bent her head back down, pressing her nose into his hair as she clung to him, and his fingers left gentle patterns into her back, up and down and side to side. She felt him relax back into the wall they were sitting up against, and she in turn went back to his lips, slow and steady, but getting deeper and deeper, and the muscles in her mouth were starting to ache from working so much.

Marinette was starting to wonder when was a good time to breath when her phone rang. She broke away from him, waiting a moment to see his heavy eyes open a little and look up at her, and then gave him another kiss before pulling a few inches away.

"Who knew the service up here is great?" she mumbled in a broken and strange voice, not used to speaking as she looked down at her phone that she'd just pulled out.

"Why on earth do you have a cellphone, you have better manners than that…" Adrien muttered back, lifting up his head a little so that his voice ghosted the rim of her ear. She had to push him down a little to keep herself from melting over him, and she tried her best to clear her throat.

"I know, I'm sorry. But I promised on pain of death that I'd keep my cellphone with me tonight. Alya made me. She said something big was going to happen tonight." Marinette said, and Adrien snorted a little.

"What? Did she really deduce that Nino was going to propose then-"

"Maaariiiineeette!" Alya's voice interrupted Adrien, put onto speakerphone, and the two smiled at the excitement in it.

"Yeah Alya?" Marinette could not hide the exhaustion in her voice, and she leaned against Adrien, her head falling down against his shoulder as he wrapped around her back and legs like she was a child about to fall asleep.

"Guess who proposed, just like I thought he would tonight!"

"You're supposed to be surprised Alya…" Nino's faint voice was heard in the background, and Adrien let out a small snort.

"Oh my goodness! That's amazing Alya! I'm so happy for you!" Marinette cooed, trying to sound as enthusiastic as possible. But that was hard to do when your voice felt weird talking and Adrien Agreste was getting incredibly close to your ear with his lips.

"Thank you! Oh I'm so excited Marinette! We're going to be married in Paris but we'll have a second reception in Germany so all our co-workers can come, and then we'll go on our honeymoon to Morocco! You should come to Germany for the second reception, bring Adrien too! I could really use extra friends to help out, and you could definitely use a get away trip to finally get with Adrien!" Alya cried, and Adrien started laughing loud enough for anyone to have heard him on the other line. Marinette quickly punched his shoulder, telling him to shut up.

"Wait, is Adrien _there_?! Wait- Marinette-"

"Yes, Adrien's right hERE-" Marinette yelped a little as his teeth closed around her ear lightly for a split second, until he started laughing again and she punched his shoulder harder crying, "ADRIEN! Can you NOT do that right now?!"

"Right now? So what about later-"

" _Kitty, I will throw you off this building if you don't-_ "

Alya interrupted them by a disbelieving cry of,

"Oh my- oh my gosh- you're making out. I can't believe this. I cannot freaking believe this-" Nino's yell of shock was heard loud and clear on the other end as well and Marinette felt like she was going to self destruct.

" _We're not making out Alya!_ " she hissed, and Adrien unhelpfully added loudly,

"We were, and then your phone call interrupted us."

"OH MY-" Alya dissolved into what sounded like furious but happy scolding about how Marinette needed to _tell her when things like this happened_. And Nino as well was trying to start his own interrogation with Adrien about how everything had taken this sudden but wonderful turn.

"HOW LONG HAS THIS BEEN GOING ON?" Alya's yell overpowered Nino's questioning, and Marinette had to pull the phone out of Adrien's hands as she answered quickly,

"Not long! Not long at all! Only like a few weeks but-"

"A FEW WEEKS?!"

"Come on Alya! Don't be upset! You were just telling us about your engagement, you should be more excited about that! Let's not talk about-"

"I'VE WAITED FOR AROUND HALF A DECADE FOR MY FRIENDS TO STOP BEING IDIOTS AND START DATING, AND WHEN THAT FINALLY HAPPENS, THE ONE PERSON WHO WOULD NEVER STOP TALKING ABOUT THEIR CRUSH FOR THOSE 5 YEARS HASN'T SAID A WORD TO ME FOR WEEKS, HOW CAN I NOT TALK ABOUT THIS?!"

"It was more complicated then that and- and- w- we-"

"Don't worry Alya, it's been an incredibly exhausting and confusing ordeal, It's only technically starting now." Adrien sighed, leaning into the phone and making Alya 'humph' in a content but grumpy way. Nino's voice followed this saying brightly,

"Don't worry about it guys, we're happy for you! Alya is just bummed because she missed Ladybug and Chat Noir-"

"THEY KISSED, THEY KISSED IN PUBLIC! AND I'M HERE IN GERMANY! NOW I HAVE TO USE SECOND HAND SHAKY FOOTAGE FOR THE LADYBLOG, I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS!"

All Marinette and Adrien could do was laugh, they giggled, shaking as they held onto each other and listened to Alya rant on the phone.

"First Ladybug and Chat Noir, and now you two, why is this all happening while I'm gone?!"

They didn't answer her, they just held each other a little tighter and Adrien gave her a kiss on the cheek. This was definitely where they were going to stay forever.

Side by side, together.


End file.
